Cubism Meaning
/ˈkjuː.bɪz.əm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes.
Sentence Examples
Cubism was an art movement.
Pablo Picasso pioneered cubism.
Picasso was a pioneer of the artistic movement called cubism.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Pablo Picasso was a pioneer of ____, an artistic style using geometric shapes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ was an art movement.
Word Origin & History
From French cubisme. One story is that, in 1908, as a new canvas by Braque was being carried past, someone said, “Encore des cubes! assez de cubisme!”. The quotations below ascribe the coinage to Matisse. Sometimes attributed to French art critic Louis Vauxcelles who popularized the term. See also the word cube (from Latin cubus, from Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Matisse coined the name Cubism as a derisive joke."
— 2003 March 3, The New Yorker:
"A few recall that, in 1908, he [Matisse] inspired the coinage of the term “cubism,” in disparagement of a movement that would eclipse his leading influence on the Parisian avant-garde."
— 2005 August 29, The New Yorker, page 78:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Pablo Picasso was a pioneer of ____, an artistic style using geometric shapes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ was an art movement.