Braque's Painting - Disregarding Forms and Focusing on Colors - Research Paper Example

The painting “Boats on the Beach” is an oil painting done in 1906 with dimensions measuring 49.53 centimeters x 69.85 centimeters.1 by pacesetter French artist Georges Braque. This oeuvre was created during Braque’s Fauvism period. Evidently, the painting shows some of the elements that are influenced by the Fauves’ vision that to truly express one’s self in art; an artist should disregard form and focus on colors.2 However, in this particular piece by Braque, he ingeniously adhered to the formal elements of painting while infusing the style that the Fauvists had introduced. In carefully examining “Boats on the Beach,” the formal elements and principles of painting should be used. Utilizing these elements and principles will provide a comprehensive analysis of Georges Braque’s work by close examination of every detail in the painting. The first element to be examined is the color of the painting since this would be the first to be noticed from the whole artwork. Moreover, the color should be the first to be analyzed because the painting belongs to Braque’s Fauvism period thus it would be expected that the artist had no inhibitions in using and exploring with colors. Unlike other Fauvists of his contemporary, Braque still observed the appropriate use of colors for “Boats on the Beach.” Most Fauvists had colored subjects with hues that deviate from the natural colors of their subjects. One example would be Henri Matisse’s painting wherein he had colored a human face with hues of green, yellow and blue. The dominant hues that Braque used in this painting are variations of blues, reds and yellows. The intensity of the dominant colors are evident in the sea while these colors were saturated in the skies and on the mountains. The colors employed in the painting are complementary colors, which helps in creating an illusion of proximity of the boats on the shore to the viewer and distance of the sea and mountains from the boat and the viewer of the painting. Furthermore, the artist’s choice of colors emphasized the subjects, which are the boats. Relatively, the color values used on “Boats on the Beach” created the illusion of proximity and distance because the darker colors used for the boats and the shore produces an effect that the boats and shore are upfront. While as the mountains, skies and the shore that appears to be on the other side of the sea were lighter in value creates a perception of distance. Another formal element of a painting that should be examined in “Boats on the Beach” is the lines. On Georges Braque’s artwork, bold lines were used to define the boats at sea from their reflection on the water while delicate lines define the mountains from the sky. On the other hand, the sky itself was formed by using implied lines outlining the horizon just above the mountains. It is also noticeable that Braque used more of curves and diagonal lines in this painting providing a sense of fluidity and movement of the water while producing a relaxing view of this harbor scene. The lines, colors and value of colors that composed the painting helped in creating and defining the mass and volume of the objects in the painting. In turn, the mass and volume of the objects create an illusion of space in Braque’s painting. Producing a three-dimensional space in this two-dimensional artwork involved techniques that had effectively achieved the impression of depth, distance and nearness of the objects. One of the techniques used by the artist to achieve this illusion of space is the overlapping of forms. This can be seen with the depiction of mountains overlapped by the masts of the boats on the water creating an impression that the mountains were situated far from the sea and the boats. Overlapped forms of the boats on the water can also be distinguished providing an illusion that the boats are floating on the water, this illusion was also attained by placing reflections of the boats on the water. The boats on the shore were also slightly overlapped with the tip of the partly visible boat extending on to the body of the lighter colored boat thus the boats appear to be in a considerable distance from each other. These overlapping of forms provided an over-all illusion that each form in the painting is a three-dimensional object. Another technique employed to give the painting a three-dimensional feel is to establish the ground plane. The ground plane in this painting is the area covered by the water and the shore wherein the boats are placed. This part defines the height of the skies and mountains on the background while emphasizing the shore on which the boats are docked depth of the waters where the other boats can be perceived as floating. Braque made use of another spatial technique in his painting “Boats on the Beach” to exhibit a three-dimensional illusion for this piece by diminution of forms clearly seen on the reduced size of the mountains to give off an impression that they are located farther from the viewer. In addition, the intervals between the boats on the shore and the boats on the water have noticeable differences. The gap between the boats floating on the water is closer than the gap between the two boats on the shore as a result the boats on the water appear to be distant while the two boats on the shore appear to be nearer. The artist also employed the atmospheric perspective technique to give a notion of depth. Defining the skyline, depicting the objects near the sky as less distinct and lighter in color, and depicting the objects on the shore near the mountains as indistinguishable forms are indications of Braque’s use of the atmospheric perspective technique. Creating a three-dimensional illusion on paintings would also include spatial divisions. In “Boats on the Beach,” Georges Braque clearly defined the foreground, middle ground and background of the painting. The foreground starts from the defined shoreline includes the boat on the shore and ends on the partly hidden boat that is also on-shore. The foreground establishes the space near the viewer of the painting providing the impression that the boats and the shore are up-close and within reach of the viewer. On the other hand, the middle ground consists of the sea with boats floating and the mountains. This shows that the mountains and the waters with boats afloat are far from the boats and shore on the foreground and gives a notion of distance to the viewers of the painting. The background of “Boats on the Beach” is composed of the sky and the mountain that was perceptibly lighter in value from the mountains in the middle ground. The skies and the light-colored mountain produced an effect that gives an illusion that the objects are very far from the position of the boats on sea, which is included in the middle ground, and from the boats on the shore, which are contained in the foreground of the painting. Other formal elements that can be observed in Braque’s “Boats on the Beach” are the texture, role of the medium in the painting and the scale. Texture is slightly evident on “Boats on the Beach” as the artist did not focus much on detailing the sand grains of the shore, the ripples of the water and the features of the boat or the physical traits of the skies. However, Braque depicted an illusion of texture by placing small, undefined boats on the water providing an almost real feel of a sea crowded with boats. In creating this texture, the medium employed by Braque, which is oil paint, contributed to the effects that the artist had in mind. The characteristic of oil paint that allows the painter to apply the paint thick or thin is evident on this painting. The boats on the water are visibly thick dabs of paint while the paint used on the boats on the shore upfront is thinly applied. “Boats on the Beach” has a dimension of 49.53 centimeters x 69.85 centimeters or over 1 foot by over 2 feet. Considering the bright colors used in the piece, the scale of the painting is just appropriate because if Braque had painted this piece on a large scale, it would be too strong for the viewers and the details may not be appreciated by viewers. Georges Braque was born to Charles Braque and Augustine Johanet on May 13, 1882 at Argenteuil, France.3 Georges was the younger of two children, he had an older sister named Henriette.4 He came from a family of painters, his grandfather, Amedee Braque was a house painter and Georges’ father inherited the painting business from Amedee.5 Born into a family of house painters, it was predictable that the young Georges would also be artistically inclined like his father and his grandfather. As a child, Georges sketched and painted his mother, his grandmother and the women belonging to his immediate family.6 His father took him to painting sessions on Sundays where Georges saw the Impressionists at work.7 Witnessing the group of painters without a doubt had further awakened the artistic passion in the young Georges Braque. This exposure to the said art group had great influences evident in Braque’s early works. Braque received formal education in painting from École des Beaux-Arts in Le Havre.8 On speaking of his training with this art institution, Braque was quoted saying, “I’ve always hated official painting.”9 With these words, Braque proved to be an artist that would not stop reinventing his art and would always look for new ways and new materials to express his artistic views. Georges Braque’s artworks were dominantly Impressionist in style until the year 1905 when he saw the paintings by the Fauves, particularly admired the paintings by Henri Matisse and Andre Derain,10 he was immediately converted to become a Fauvist. In 1906, “Boats on the Beach” was one of Braque’s paintings where he adapted the Fauvist style. The artist’s main subjects in “Boats on the Beach” are obviously the boats at shores of L’Estaque and not the seascape. If Braque had opted to paint the seascape in L’Estaque then he would have distinctly painted the features of the sea, so in this piece, the artist clearly chose the boats as his subject. Although the immediate subject that comes into mind upon seeing this painting is the boats, Braque intended the subject of this painting to represent something else than just mere boats in the beach. Viewers should keep in mind that the artist created this piece according to the Fauvist style wherein the colors and forms are dissonant from the natural appearance of the subject and the surrounding objects. Dissonance from the color is evident in the mountains, the shore and the sky. The mountains were in shades of violet. The sky was painted in red, green, blue and violet while the shore had hints of shades of violet, red and green. Painting this seemingly obscure harbor scene employing these unusual colors are indications that Braque emphasized on the use colors to express his sentiments instead of expressing his thoughts in terms of forms. The iconography of “Boats and Beaches” is more on the expression of Georges Braque on his deviation from the conventional depiction of harbor scenes. This painting signifies the Braque’s journey towards exploring other styles and methods in art that later on paved way for his major contribution in the art world, which is Cubism. Moreover, “Boats on the Beach” is one of the ways Georges Braque announced to the art world that he would be abandoning the conventional or formulaic ways of painting to explore other approaches in creating art so that in the process, he may also find his own style. “Boats on the Beach” was created within the period when Georges Braque had embarked on his exploration of other art forms that he finds liberating therefore giving him more ways to express himself more as an artist. From 1905, the time he had seen the works of Fauvists Matisse and Derain, his works were fashioned after the Fauvist style. The year “Boats on the Beach” was created was also the period when Braque was acquainted with the artworks of Paul Cezanne. This encounter with Cezanne had launched the change in Braque’s artworks, which later on prepared the foundations for the onset of Cubism.11 Braque’s “Boats on the Beach” served as one of the transition periods of the artist from conventional painting to his an artistic style, which he can call as his own. During this period, new styles formulated by groups of artists were on the rise and art critics along with the public were not ready to receive these emerging art forms. Fauvists were one of those that were not well received by the viewing public and critics but despite these negative receptions, Braque adhered to the Fauvist style and still exhibited his works at the Société des Artistes Indépendants (Society of Independent Artists). This persistence exhibited by Braque may have later on contributed to the gradual acceptance of the art critics and the public to new art forms in the aspect that rising art forms cannot be prevented and the only choice is to accept the changes brought by these new artistic styles. On the contrary, Braque was later on quoted to say that artists “must avoid anything that savors of a universally applicable formula, as applicable to other arts as to reality, for such a formula, instead of creating, would only produce a style or rather a stylization.”12 With this statement, Braque who had shifted into different artistic styles throughout his artistic career and who founded Cubism was, in some way, criticizing art styles. From what Braque said, art styles do not intend to create art instead, it limits the artist and reduces the artwork to a mere formula. Other works of Georges Braque that are related to “Boats on the Beach” are “Houses at L’Estaque” and “Fruitdish and Glass.” These two other remarkable artworks by Braque have their significance in his artistic career. “Houses at L’Estaque” which was created in 1908 was Braque’s first painting that Braque employed the Cubist style.13 On the other hand, “Fruitdish and Glass” created in 1912, was the first artwork on which Braque used paper collie that incorporates paper in the artwork by pasting on the surface.14 These two artworks are related to “Boats on the Beach” because similarly, “Houses at L’Estaque” and “Fruitdish and Glass” signified the seemingly endless artistic explorations of Braque. Furthermore, these artworks signify the turning points and changes in Georges Braque’s artistic life. Although Braque had frequently shifted styles throughout his artistic career, it is undeniable that he still retained the formal elements of a painting. Braque’s artistic feature of retaining formal elements in his artworks may have served as a way for contemporary art critics and the public to accept eventually Braque’s works. Until his death, Braque had continued exploring limitless artistic possibilities. As Georges Braque once said, he would always find “New methods—new subjects.”15 CITED WORKS Danchev, Alex. Georges Braque: A Life. New York: Arcade Publishing Inc., 2005. Freedman, Judi, et. al. The Fauve Landscape. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990 Cat. no. 53. Janson, Horst W. Janson's story of painting: from cave painting to modern times. Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1984. Raynal, Maurice, Ralph Roeder. Modern French painters. New York: Arno Press, 1969. Ruhrberg, Karl, et. al. Art of the 20th century. Los Angeles: Taschen, 2000. Volume 1. Taylor, Mark C. Disfiguring: art, architecture, religion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. Read More