the subject—whether treated sentimentally or adapted to the formula of a gimmick that might be more or less amusing—the originality of a henner, a ziem, a didier-pouget, even of a wlaminck—was subordinated to true, essential qualities that correspond to the plastic demands of painting; that certainly was the basis for the state of mind of this first stage in a radical change in the position of the painter, the stage that has, legitimately, the right to the name 'cubism'. this stage in fact remains respectful of the classical 'three dimensions', emphasising 'volume'. consequently, it remains within the framework of 'perspective', which suggests on a flat surface an illusion of depth. these are the values which we wanted forcefully to express and to place above those purely emotional concerns with which the mentality of painters of that time was satisfied, leading to a real atrophying of the form which other times had, by contrast, been able to develop and to exalt. (gleizes, souvenirs)