Cubism

The movement, led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braques, came into being at the turn of the 20th century. It was inspired by the work of Cezanne and originated with Picasso's use of angular planes and surfaces in an effort to construct form within space. The term 'Cubism' was coined in 1908 by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles after hearing Matisse describe the paintings of Braque as composed of nothing but little cubes. As with all Modernist movements, the aim of Cubism was to escape from realism by depicting the many-faceted characteristics within any landscape, object, or figure. The movement quickly led to many others, similarly based, such as the Abstractionists, Constructivists, Expressionists, Fauvists, Futurists and Vorticists. It has been called the first and the most dominant of all movements in 20th-century art.