Kubism

Kubism, sometimes used to refer to Cubism, is an early 20th-century art movement that reshaped painting and sculpture by emphasizing geometric forms and multiple viewpoints rather than a single perspective. The term kubism appears in some languages and contexts, but the standard English spelling is Cubism.

Originating in Paris around 1907, Cubism grew from the analytical approach of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, drawing on Paul Cézanne's structural analysis and influences from African and Iberian sculpture. Analytic Cubism (roughly 1908–1912) fragments subjects into interlocking planes and suppresses color to focus on form and perspective. Synthetic Cubism (from about 1912 onward) reintroduced color and texture and incorporated collage elements such as newspaper and wallpaper to construct new meanings.

The movement is typically divided into two phases: analytic and synthetic cubism. Analytic Cubism prioritizes the reconstruction of objects from multiple angles into a fractured, faceted space. Synthetic Cubism emphasizes materiality and surface, adopting simpler shapes and combining disparate elements to form a unified composition.

The term Kubism is a variant spelling found in some languages, whereas Cubism remains the conventional English term. Important figures beyond Picasso and Braque include Juan Gris, who helped develop Synthetic Cubism, and other artists who explored similar approaches across Europe.

Cubism influenced a wide range of later movements, including Futurism, Constructivism, and De Stijl, and impacted painting, sculpture, architecture, and graphic design. Its emphasis on structure, abstraction, and the fragmentation of form contributed to ongoing experiments in representing space and time in modern art.