Georges Braque - Masterpiece Curations

“Art is made to disturb, science reassures.” ~Georges Braque

Georges Braque (pronunciation) was a French painter who helped develop the Cubist style of painting. He was born in Argenteuil-sur-Seine, France (pronunciation), on May 13, 1882. His father was a house painter and decorator, and it rubbed off on the young Georges.

He showed an interest in art from an early age, and began studying at the École supérieure d’art et design Le Havre-Rouen (pronunciation) when he was just 16 years old. However, he soon grew disillusioned with the traditional approach to painting that he was being taught there, and he left the school after only two years.

Braque started off painting in the Impressionism and Fauvism style, however he began experimenting with different styles of painting. He met and quickly became friends with Pablo Picasso, another young artist who was exploring new methods with art.

***Clarinet and Bottle of Rum on a Mantelpiece***

Together, Braque and Picasso developed the Cubist style of painting, which sought to break down objects into their component parts and then reassemble them in a new way. The Cubist style was initially met with skepticism by the art world, but Braque and Picasso continued to develop and refine it.

Braque served in the French army during World War I, and he was severely wounded and left temporarily blind. However, he recovered and soon after the war returned to painting. His work began to reflect the somber mood of post-war Europe, and in the 1920’s, he started experimenting with different materials, such as sand and newspapers, which he incorporated into his paintings.

While most of Braque’s art leaned into the Cubism style, he also dabbled in sculptures, lithographs, and book illustrations.

He died in Paris on August 31, 1963, however his work had a profound impact on the development of modern art, and he is considered one of the most important modern artists of the 20th century.