The First Phase

Analytic Cubism (1909-1912) was the demolition stage. Picasso and Braque broke objects into dozens of small, overlapping planes painted in muted brown, gray, and ochre.

They pushed so far that the subject nearly vanished. A portrait could end up looking like a pile of shattered glass, with only a stray ear or a button hinting at what you were seeing. It was thrilling and risky — they came close to losing their audience entirely.

The Second Phase

Synthetic Cubism went the opposite way. Picasso and Braque brought back brighter color and started building images up instead of tearing them down.

Their boldest move was collage: pasting newspaper clippings, wallpaper, and fabric straight onto the canvas. A scrap of real newsprint now sat next to painted shapes as an equal. In one stroke they blurred the line between a picture and the ordinary stuff of daily life.