Random Saturday

Top of the Day: Femme nue lisant (Nude Woman Reading) - Robert Delaunay, 1920

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Today's Artwork:

• 1987 Driving lesson - Eden Lennox and Photo: Rob Frith, 2019 -- link --
• Skating Floor - Io Angeli, 2017 -- link --
• Figure in Sunlight (Artist's Wife) - John Henry Twachtman, born Cincinnati, OH 1853-died Gloucester, MA 1902, ca. 1890-1900 -- link --
• Casting, Number Two - Winslow Homer, 1894 -- link --
• Self-Portrait Dedicated to Leon Trotsky - Frida Kahlo, 1937 -- link --
• Femme nue lisant (Nude Woman Reading) - Robert Delaunay, 1920 -- link --

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​We spent quite a bit of time on cubism.  This is what Bing has to say about cubism:

Hi there! If you're interested in learning more about cubism, the revolutionary modern art movement that changed the way we see reality, then you've come to the right place. In this blog post, I'll introduce you to some of the most iconic cubist artists and their artworks, and explain what makes cubism so unique and influential.

Cubism was born in the early 20th century, when two artists, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, started to experiment with breaking down objects and figures into geometric shapes and fragments, and rearranging them on a flat canvas. They wanted to show multiple perspectives of the same subject at once, instead of following the traditional rules of perspective and realism. They also used a muted color palette, mostly browns, grays, and greens, to emphasize the structure and form of their compositions.

Picasso and Braque are considered the founders of cubism, and their collaboration lasted from 1907 to 1914. One of the first and most famous cubist paintings is Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), which depicts five nude women in a brothel with distorted faces and angular bodies. Another example is Braque's Houses at L'Estaque (1908), which shows a landscape of houses and trees reduced to simple shapes and planes.

Cubism evolved into different phases and styles over time, such as analytical cubism, synthetic cubism, orphism, and futurism. Many other artists joined the movement and contributed to its development, such as Juan Gris, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Metzinger, Roger de la Fresnaye, Fernand Leger, Sonia Delaunay, and Robert Delaunay. Some of their notable cubist artworks are:

- Juan Gris: The Guitar (1913), a collage of paper cutouts and oil paint that creates a dynamic composition of a guitar on a table.

- Marcel Duchamp: Nude Descending a Staircase (1912), a painting that shows the motion of a nude figure descending a staircase in a series of overlapping planes.

- Jean Metzinger: Le goûter (Tea Time) (1911), a painting that depicts a woman having tea with a complex arrangement of geometric shapes and patterns.

- Roger de la Fresnaye: The Conquest of the Air (1913), a painting that celebrates the invention of aviation with a scene of a balloon flying over a landscape.

- Fernand Leger: The City (1919), a painting that captures the energy and chaos of urban life with colorful geometric forms and mechanical elements.

- Sonia Delaunay: Electric Prisms (1914), a painting that uses bright colors and circular shapes to create a sense of movement and vibration.

- Robert Delaunay: Eiffel Tower Series (1909-1912), a series of paintings that show different views of the Eiffel Tower in Paris with contrasting colors and dynamic forms.

Cubism was one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century, as it challenged the conventional ways of representing reality and opened up new possibilities for artistic expression. Cubism also influenced other fields such as architecture, literature, music, and design. Cubism is still relevant today, as many contemporary artists continue to explore its ideas and techniques.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about cubism and its artists. If you want to learn more about this fascinating art movement, you can check out these sources:

 Cubism: A Complete Guide to the Revolutionary Modern Art Movement

 Cubism | Artists, Characteristics & Facts | Britannica

 Cubism Art Movement - A Guide to the Most Notable Cubism Artists

 6 Artists Who Made Cubism Popular — Google Arts & Culture