BRAQUE, GEORGES

zhôrzh bräk, 1882–1963, French painter. He joined the artists involved in developing fauvism in 1905, and at l'Estaque c.1909 he was profoundly influenced by Cézanne. He met Picasso, and the two simultaneously explored form and structure with results that led to the development of cubism. In works such as the monumental Nude (1907–8; Cuttoli Coll., Paris) Braque exemplified the analytical phase of the movement with his keen sense of structure and orderly method of decomposing an object. In 1911 he introduced typographical letters into his canvases and soon began working in collage. After World War I, in which he was badly wounded, Braque veered away from the angularity of early cubism and developed a more graceful, curvilinear style, predominantly painting still life. His works showed restraint and subtlety both in design and color (e.g., The Table, Pulitzer Coll., St. Louis). Braque is represented in leading galleries in Europe and the United States.

See his notebooks (tr. 1971); studies by W. Hofmann (1961), E. B. Mullins (1969), and F. Ponge et al. (tr. 1971).

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

-6856-