Gleizes was also one of the few French painters of the 1920s to recognise nonrepresentational painting as the logical development of Cubism." "His work as a painter is accompanied by an immense body of theoretical work, addressing the question posed so starkly by Duchamp and Picabia: why should we paint? What is the justification for the work of art? Over his life he touches on many spheres of human activity - religious, political and cultural history, physics and the philosophy of work.".

As you'll find out in this guide to the fundamentals of cubism, there is more to the genre than its most famous proponent. Cubism -- often identified by flattened, geometric shapes, overlapping, simplified forms and fragmented spatial planes -- was quite possibly the most influential movement in 20th-century art. Featured artists: Pablo Picasso, Edmond Fortier, Paul Cizanne, George Braque, Henri Le Fauconnier, Jean Metzinger, Fernand Liger, Juan Gris, Albert Gleizes, Henri Laurens, Salvador Dalm, Brassao, Robert Delaunay, Raymond Duchamp-Villon... TASCHEN's Basic Art movement and genre series: includes a detailed introduction with approximately 30 photographs, and a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, sporting, etc.) that took place during the time period. The body of the book contains a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation.

Cubism was the most influential artistic movement of the 20th century, yet just what cubism was, or stood for, is still in dispute. This book offers a way beyond this confusion through a narrative of cubism's beginnings, consolidation and dissemination.