Cubism: Symbolism in The Painting

The term 'abstract art' - also called "non-objective art", "non-figurative", "non-
representational", "geometric abstraction", or "concrete art" - is a rather vague umbrella

term for any painting or sculpture which does not portray recognizable objects or scenes.
However, as we shall see, there is no clear consensus on the definition, types or aesthetic
significance of abstract art.
What is the Idea Behind Abstract Art?
The basic premise of abstraction - incidentally, a key issue of aesthetics - is that the formal
qualities of a painting (or sculpture) are just as important (if not more so) than its representational
qualities.
Let's start with a very simple illustration. A picture may contain a very bad drawing of a man, but if
its colours are very beautiful, it may nevertheless strike us as being a beautiful picture. This shows
how a formal quality (colour) can override a representational one (drawing).
On the other hand, a photorealist painting of a terraced house may demonstrate exquisite
representationalism, but the subject matter, colour scheme and general composition may be totally
boring.
The philosophical justification for appreciating the value of a work of art's formal qualities stems
from Plato's statement that:
"straight lines and circles are... not only beautiful... but eternally and absolutely beautiful."
cubismnoun [U]
US UK /ˈkjuː.bɪ.zəm/ SPECIALIZED
a style of modern art in which an object or person is shown as

a set ofgeometric shapes and as if seen from many
different angles at the same time
Symbolism in the Painting

The three figures in this painting resemble characters from the Commedia
dell'Arte tradition. This Italian theater form began in the 16th century and was
still being used in the early 20th century. Its hallmark was to feature well-
known stock characters, who were usually masked.
The blue and white clarinet player on the left is Pierrot, a naive clown who is
always falling in love and getting his heart broken. His love interests often
prefer the handsome trickster Harlequin, seen here in the center wearing the
red and yellow colors of the Spanish flag and playing a guitar. As a suave,
intelligent servant, Harlequin's character stands in stark contrast to the
melancholic clown.
On the right is a
Three Musicians by Pablo Picasso. MoMA, New York City. singing monk.
Although there is
not a specific monk character in Commedia dell'Arte, they were often included
in these theater performances. Sometimes the stock characters would wear
the brown robes of a monk as a disguise.
If you look carefully, you can see one more figure in the painting: a dog
sprawled underneath Pierrot's chair. Although its face is hidden, you can see
parts of its body peeking out from behind the musicians' legs and its shadow
on the wall behind the musicians.
Introduction to Girl Before a Mirror

Like the Wicked Queen in Snow White well knew, vanity is found in the
reflection of a mirror. Pablo Picasso thought so - or did he? In his 1932
painting Girl Before a Mirror, he painted the image of his young French
mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. What was the meaning in the mirror image of
this young woman?
Girl Before a Mirror was painted during Picasso's Cubist period. Cubism was
a style of painting popular in Paris at the turn of the century. Picasso was one
of the founding fathers of the style. All parts of the painting are painted boldly
with geometric patterns. The idea of Cubism is to take an object, break it down
into simple shapes, and then recreate those shapes on a canvas, presenting
multiple perspectives at the same time.
Analysis of Girl Before a Mirror

Picasso's Girl Before a Mirror, again, is a portrait of his young mistress. Like
anyone in their teenage years and early twenties, she was known to primp in
front of the mirror; but when one looks long enough into a mirror, one tends to
start noticing the pimple breakout or the beginning of crow's feet by the eyes.
Most people have had a session in front of a mirror where they were unhappy
with how they looked. Although Marie-Thérèse was a fetching young woman,
in the mirror she saw flaws in her physical beauty.
Although the focus is on the girl looking into the mirror and her reflection, the
background is just as important in bringing out the pattern. The diamonds of
the background holding the circles bring out the circles that are the girl's
breasts and belly.
There are a number of interpretations that one can have for the picture:
 The girl is looking into the mirror because she is pregnant and from the
image in the mirror, she sees lopsided breasts and a fat belly.
 The girl looking into the mirror has an angelic face full of light, but her
reflection in the mirror is dark, giving this young woman a sense of being
flawed.
 The girl looking into the mirror has beauty as she has make-up on for the
day. The reflection is how old she projects herself to be at night when
she takes the make-up off.
ARMORED TRAIN
Painted in 1915, the year Italy entered World War I, this work
reflects a Futurist declaration of the same year: "War is a
motor for art." Although poor health prevented Severini from
enlisting in the military, he was obsessed by this first fully
mechanized war. Living in Paris, he witnessed the city's
bombardment, and from his studio he had an aerial view of
the Denfert-Rochereau station and trains transporting
soldiers, supplies, and weapons. Here, five faceless figures
crouch in a militarized locomotive car, aiming their rifles in
unison. Smoke from gun and cannon fire eclipse the natural
landscape. Severini celebrated war, which the Futurists
believed could generate a new Italian identity—one of military
and cultural power.
THE CITY
Label:
This painting captures the staccato rhythms of a modern urban
environment, and the broad panorama of its buildings, scaffolding, and
bridges. These architectural elements are punctuated by such signs of
city life as shop window mannequins, rounded plumes of smoke, and a
telephone pole, all rendered in bold, vibrant colors. Léger even included
his own initials, "F L," among the array of stenciled letters, evoking the
colorful billboard posters of the time.

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The term 'abstract art' - also called "non-objective art", "non-figurative", "non-

representational", "geometric abstraction", or "concrete art" - is a rather vague umbrella

What is the Idea Behind Abstract Art?

a style of modern art in which an object or person is shown as

Symbolism in the Painting

Introduction to Girl Before a Mirror

Analysis of Girl Before a Mirror

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