Focus on Le pigeon aux petits pois and analyze the Background.
This painting was created during the first period of Cubism, known as Analytical Cubism. It began in 1907, when Picasso showed his first Cubist painting titled Les Demoiselles d’Avignon to Georges Braque. The painting was influenced by African tribal art and broke the traditional rules of Western painting. Picasso and Braque spent two years working on the new Cubist style in collaboration. In 1908, Braque created his own Cubist painting titled Large Nude. A year later in 1909, Picasso and Braque changed their focus from depicting people to still life. By 1912 they had begun to introduce words into their paintings.
Analytical Cubism used geometric shapes to convey the forms of people and objects. Over time these geometric shapes became more prominent, creating a more abstract image. The subject was depicted in a fractured way and this presented a multi-dimensional viewpoint. The colour palette was intentionally limited to express this effect. Cubism offered the viewer a perspective in motion, as though viewing the subject from multiple angles at the same time.
still life Georges Braque Cubist Cubism Les Demoiselles d’Avignon