BEYE Discovery: Picasso and Cubism

Post and Lesson Contributed by Ally Berstein, Teacher Assistant

Today’s lesson focused on Picasso and cubism, which he invented with the help of artist Georges Braque. It’s easy to look at Picasso’s work and surmise that he used cubism because he was unable to paint realistically, but if one examines his entire oeuvre, this is clearly not the case. Picasso had classical training in the arts and was able to create incredibly realistic images. Because of this training, he had the confidence to break with tradition and to invent new ways to represent what we see.

Joseph

To help our students understand how to “see” an object in a new way, we looked at four Picasso sketches of a bull – the first one was illustrated realistically and conveyed the animal’s weight and mass. The second sketch was simplified to suggest the strength of the animal and the third sketch hinted at a skeletal structure, relying on line only. The fourth representation was the simplest of all the sketches, a beautiful contour outlining the edges of the bull, yet perhaps the most expressive. This helped us to understand that not every detail is necessary to convey a figure.

Joel

Cubism asks the viewer to see a flattened view of an object/figure and to consider how it might look from every side. This means that certain features on a face may end up in unexpected places. Ms. Bernstein demonstrated the idea with a plush toy squid, which she first rendered realistically. She also drew the squid in the cubist style, constantly turning it, seeking to convey all the dimensions on the flat drawing surface. Students were very eager to draw their own stuffed animals in this manner and excitedly dove into this project!

Ms. Bernstein demonstrating a realistic and cubist approach

First, through careful observation, the children made a realistic drawing followed by a breathtaking cubist drawing. I was so thrilled with the enthusiasm and the resulting artwork – I felt that Pablo Picasso himself would’ve been proud. This was definitely a favorite day in Beye Discovery for both the students and teachers (and that’s saying a lot!). Take a look at the photos and see for yourself!