Cubism Prints and Modern Cubist Art
Cubism transformed the direction of modern art by challenging the idea that a painting should represent its subject from a single fixed viewpoint. Instead, Cubist artists broke objects and figures into intersecting planes, simplified geometry and overlapping perspectives, allowing several aspects of the same subject to appear simultaneously.
Our collection of Cubism prints brings together paintings by artists who developed, expanded and reinterpreted this revolutionary approach, including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Fernand Léger and Henri Le Fauconnier.
The resulting artworks range from fragmented still lifes and portraits to increasingly geometric and abstract compositions. For a broader selection of non-representational and modern artwork, explore our Abstract Art Prints and Geometric Abstract Prints.
What Is Cubism?
Cubism emerged in Paris during the first decade of the twentieth century and became one of the most important developments in modern art.
Rather than trying to create the illusion of three-dimensional space using traditional perspective, Cubist painters analysed their subjects as collections of forms. Objects could be viewed from several directions at once, while foreground and background were brought together into a flatter pictorial surface.
Musical instruments, bottles, newspapers, café tables, portraits and landscapes became recurring subjects because they allowed artists to investigate the relationship between recognisable objects and increasingly abstract structures.
Cubism ultimately influenced painting, sculpture, architecture, typography and design and played an important role in the development of later geometric and abstract movements.
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque were central to the early development of Cubism.
Working in close dialogue during the years before the First World War, the two artists progressively dismantled traditional perspective and reduced objects to complex arrangements of intersecting planes.
Braque's paintings of musical instruments, still lifes and landscapes demonstrate this transformation particularly clearly. Works such as his Cubist guitars and violins turn familiar objects into networks of angled forms, subdued colour and compressed space.
Picasso pursued similar experiments across portraiture, still life and the human figure, ultimately becoming one of the defining figures of twentieth-century modern art.
Analytical Cubism
The term Analytical Cubism is generally used for the highly fragmented phase of Cubism developed principally by Picasso and Braque around 1909–1912.
During this period, objects were broken into numerous small planes and viewed from multiple angles. Colour was often deliberately restrained, with browns, greys, ochres and muted greens allowing the structure of the composition to become more important than decorative colour.
Musical instruments, bottles, glasses and portraits were particularly common subjects. Although the objects can sometimes be difficult to identify immediately, fragments of familiar shapes remain visible within the surrounding geometry.
Analytical Cubist prints are especially effective in sophisticated neutral interiors where subtle colour, structure and texture are preferred to vivid decoration.
Synthetic Cubism and the Return of Colour
Cubism subsequently developed towards simpler shapes, stronger colour and more immediately recognisable imagery.
This later phase is commonly known as Synthetic Cubism. Rather than breaking objects into ever smaller fragments, artists began constructing images from larger, flatter areas of colour and shape.
Collage also became important. Newspaper, wallpaper and other everyday materials could be incorporated into artworks, challenging traditional distinctions between fine art and ordinary objects.
The clearer geometry and stronger decorative qualities of Synthetic Cubism helped extend the influence of the movement into graphic design and later forms of modern abstraction.
Juan Gris and Crystal Cubism
Juan Gris developed one of the most distinctive and carefully structured approaches to Cubism.
His still lifes frequently feature tables, newspapers, bottles, musical instruments, glasses and domestic objects organised into precise geometric relationships. Compared with the often muted palette of early Analytical Cubism, Gris frequently introduced stronger colour and clearer forms.
His later work became associated with Crystal Cubism, a development characterised by particularly ordered compositions and sharply defined geometric structures.
Juan Gris prints work especially well in modern interiors because their strong geometry combines intellectual structure with decorative colour. His still lifes can provide a striking focal point in dining rooms, living rooms, kitchens and contemporary gallery walls.
Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes
Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes played major roles in expanding and explaining Cubism beyond the immediate circle of Picasso and Braque.
Together they wrote one of the earliest major theoretical texts devoted to Cubism, helping establish the movement as an important new approach to painting.
Metzinger's Cubist portraits, figures and still lifes frequently combine multiple viewpoints with carefully organised geometry and rich colour.
Gleizes developed increasingly dynamic compositions in which figures, landscapes and architecture were transformed into intersecting planes and rhythmic structures. His later work moved towards a more abstract form of Cubism and provides an important bridge between Cubist representation and geometric abstraction.
Fernand Léger and Geometric Cubism
Fernand Léger developed a highly individual form of Cubism based on bold cylindrical forms, strong outlines and increasingly vivid colour.
His paintings frequently transformed people, buildings and modern urban life into simplified mechanical shapes. This emphasis on volume, geometry and machinery gave Léger's work a distinctive character within the wider Cubist movement.
Léger prints can work particularly well in contemporary interiors because their bold structures remain immediately legible even at larger sizes.
Henri Le Fauconnier and the Wider Cubist Movement
Henri Le Fauconnier was another important participant in the broader development of Cubism.
His paintings combine solid geometric construction with more expressive qualities, demonstrating how Cubist ideas were interpreted differently by artists working beyond Picasso and Braque.
The expansion of Cubism through artists such as Le Fauconnier, Metzinger and Gleizes helped transform it from a small Parisian experiment into an international modern art movement.
Robert Delaunay and the Move Towards Abstraction
Robert Delaunay initially developed his work in dialogue with Cubism but increasingly placed colour at the centre of his compositions.
His fragmented architectural and urban subjects gradually gave way to circular rhythms, intersecting colour and increasingly abstract imagery.
Delaunay therefore provides an important connection between Cubism and the development of pure abstraction. His colourful work is particularly relevant for anyone interested in the transition from fragmented Cubist form towards modern geometric and colour-based abstract art.
Explore our Abstract Art Prints for more artists who continued this movement away from traditional representation.
Cubism and Geometric Abstract Art
Cubism was not purely abstract. Many Cubist works retain recognisable figures, objects, landscapes and interiors.
However, the movement's fragmentation of objects into geometric planes had an enormous influence on subsequent abstraction. Artists increasingly realised that shape, line, rhythm and colour could become subjects in their own right.
This makes Cubism an important predecessor to many later forms of twentieth-century geometric art.
For compositions where geometry has become the primary subject, explore our Geometric Abstract Prints.
Choosing Cubist Wall Art for Your Interior
Cubist prints can work across a surprisingly wide range of interiors because the movement encompasses both restrained neutral compositions and strongly coloured geometric paintings.
Cubist Prints for Living Rooms
A large Cubist still life or portrait can provide a sophisticated focal point above a sofa, fireplace or sideboard.
Muted Braque compositions suit interiors dominated by natural wood, cream, beige, brown and grey, while colourful works by Gris, Metzinger, Gleizes and Léger can introduce stronger visual accents.
Cubist Art for Dining Rooms
Still lifes featuring bottles, glasses, café tables, fruit and musical instruments are particularly appropriate for dining rooms and entertaining spaces.
Cubism's transformation of ordinary objects into complex geometric compositions gives these familiar subjects a distinctive modern character.
Cubist Prints for Offices and Creative Spaces
Cubism has a particularly strong association with artistic experimentation and new ways of seeing.
Its fragmented perspectives and geometric structures make Cubist prints an excellent choice for offices, studios, design spaces and contemporary commercial interiors.
Creating a Cubist Gallery Wall
Cubist works can be particularly effective when displayed together.
A cohesive gallery wall might combine a muted Braque still life, a colourful Juan Gris composition and a stronger geometric work by Albert Gleizes or Fernand Léger.
Rather than choosing identical colours, look for recurring forms and visual relationships. Angular planes, circles, repeated outlines and fragmented objects can create unity across works by different artists.
Consistent framing can strengthen the overall arrangement. Black frames with white mounts provide a particularly clean presentation for Cubist and modernist artwork.
Cubism Fine Art Prints, Framed Prints and Canvas Panels
GalleryThane Cubist artwork is available in a range of sizes and presentation formats.
Fine art prints provide flexibility for individual framing, while framed prints offer a complete gallery-style presentation. Canvas panels create a clean contemporary alternative and can work particularly well for larger, strongly geometric Cubist compositions.
Our prints, frames and canvas panels are produced in our Nottinghamshire workshop using carefully selected materials and UV-stable pigment inks, with particular attention given to reproducing the colour, structure and detail of the original artwork.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cubism?
Cubism is an early twentieth-century modern art movement that rejected conventional single-point perspective. Cubist artists represented objects through fragmented geometric forms and multiple viewpoints, creating a radically different way of depicting three-dimensional subjects on a flat surface.
Who founded Cubism?
Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque are generally regarded as the principal pioneers of Cubism. Their experiments in Paris during the years before the First World War established many of the movement's fundamental ideas.
Who are the most famous Cubist artists?
Major Cubist artists include Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes and Fernand Léger. Other artists adopted or developed Cubist ideas in different ways across Europe and beyond.
What is the difference between Analytical and Synthetic Cubism?
Analytical Cubism breaks subjects into numerous overlapping planes and often uses a restrained colour palette. Synthetic Cubism generally uses larger, simpler forms, stronger colour and constructed imagery and is closely associated with the development of collage.
What is Crystal Cubism?
Crystal Cubism refers to a later, highly ordered phase of Cubism characterised by clearer geometric structures and carefully organised compositions. Juan Gris is particularly strongly associated with this development.
Is Cubism abstract art?
Cubism helped pave the way for abstract art, but most Cubist paintings are not completely abstract. They usually retain identifiable subjects such as figures, still lifes, musical instruments or landscapes while transforming them through geometric fragmentation and multiple viewpoints.
Are Cubist prints suitable for modern interiors?
Yes. Cubist art works particularly well in contemporary, minimalist, mid-century and eclectic interiors. Neutral Cubist works can complement understated rooms, while colourful compositions can create a stronger focal point.
Where should I display Cubist wall art?
Cubist prints work well in living rooms, dining rooms, home offices, hallways and creative spaces. Still lifes are particularly effective in dining areas, while larger portraits and geometric compositions can work as statement pieces above sofas, consoles and desks.
