Cubism Vs Fauvism Analysis

The twentieth century introduced new styles of art that contrasted greatly with the popular styles of art in the nineteenth century. The twentieth century brought in more modern styles of art that challenged the idea that art had to realistically represent the world. Two major styles of art that were popularized in the twentieth century were cubism and fauvism. Cubism and fauvism are two very different styles of modern art that were used widely throughout the twentieth century.

The introduction of cubism as a major style of art dealt away with the prevailing procedure in painting. Rather than creating a scene in a linear perspective from the audience’s point of view, cubism attempted to show an object from all sides at once. Cubism
created the reality of three dimensions within a two dimensional form of art. Some cubists would add pieces of paper and other mediums to paintings to invent the technique of collage. One work that came out of cubism was Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso. The painting shows five naked prostitutes, each striking a seductive or erotic pose. However, Picasso’s painting is composed of split planes rather than the traditional rounded planes. The figures in the painting are asymmetrical and are created from jagged and rough shapes rather than taking on the soft shapes that were more traditional prior to cubism. The painting distorts the bodies of the subjects by using more geometric forms instead of representing the bodies the way they appeared in real life or the way they were idealized. Through this painting, Picasso abandoned traditional ideas of representation and takes on a more sexual tone. In addition, Picasso abandons ideas from styles of art such as impressionism and fauvism by utilizing line drawing techniques rather than defining the subjects through the use of color and light. Another major work of art that resulted from cubism is the painting, Violin and Pitcher, by Georges Braque. The painting features parts of the violin, sheet music, and the artists palette. Much like Picasso’s painting, Braque’s depiction of this scene is fragmented and represented on different planes. Braque abandoned techniques from earlier styles of art such as the brighter colors and instead made use of more muted colors which defined cubism. The subject of the painting remains recognizable however, it is split into multiple different planes thus creating a more chaotic look on the canvas. The different planes of the painting attempt to represent movement and is not concerned with the beauty of traditional art. Braque and Picasso are just two examples of artists who took on the cubist style of art; the style of art that rejected traditional methods of painting and representation and instead took on a more three dimensional form.

At the start of the twentieth century, some artists used color in ways that were non-naturalistic and that demonstrated much emotional energy, this style of art was called fauvism and the artists who used this style of art were called “the fauves,” meaning “wild beasts” because of the way they played with reality.
One work that came out of fauvism is Henri Matisse’s painting, Open Window, Collioure. Matisse created this painting by utilizing vibrant and saturated colors throughout. Rather than making use of color in a traditional way in order to represent the realities of the scene, Matisse includes color that interpret the scene to his liking. Matisse uses colors logically, they complement each other and thus create a more intense feeling when they are together. In addition, Matisse’s use of varying and broad brush strokes serve as a distinction from traditional forms of art. Another work that came out of fauvism is Henri Matisse’s painting, Madame Matisse. In this painting, Matisse represents his wife with many saturated colors. Matisse makes use of varying colors to portray the effects of shadows and light on the two halves of her face. The use of color in the painting portrays the emotional effects of the work as a whole. The colors in the painting seem to give the painting an energetic and brash feeling and yet do not represent the subject in a traditional way. Matisse’s works of art provide examples of fauvism as a style of art that used color in nontraditional and
wild ways to create emotional energy and individual interpretations of art.

Ultimately, with the start of the twentieth century, new forms of art were introduced. Though they varied and contrasted greatly with traditional forms of art from the nineteenth century in aspects such as color, shape, and even dimensions of representation. The twentieth century styles of art were more modern than nineteenth century and allowed artists more freedom in their representations of the subjects. Cubism and fauvism were two major styles of art that came about in the twentieth century. These two styles of art differ from each other in the ways that they abandon traditional elements of art.