130. The Portuguese. George Braque. 1911 CE Oil on canvas.

• Form
  • Braque rejected naturalistic and conventional painting
  • Clear-edged surfaces at the front of the picture plane, not recessed in space
  • Fractured forms; breaking down of objects into smaller forms
  • Nearly monochrome
• Context
  • Analytical Cubism; Braque worked in concert with Pablo Picasso to develop this style
  • This is not a portrait of a Portuguese musician, but rather an exploration of shapes
  • The only realistic elements are the stenciled letters and numbers; perhaps they suggest a dance hall poster behind the guitarist, a cafe-like atmosphere