Cubism: Art and Philosophy Cover Image

Cubism: Art and Philosophy
Cubism: Art and Philosophy

Author(s): Dan O'Brien
Subject(s): Visual Arts, Aesthetics
Published by: Spoločnosť pre estetiku na Slovensku a Inštitút estetiky a umeleckej kultúry Filozofickej fakulty Prešovskej univerzity v Prešove
Keywords: Braque; cubism; formalism; Kant; Locke; Picasso; realism; space and time;

Summary/Abstract: In this paper I argue that the development of cubism by Picasso and Braque at the beginning of the twentieth century can be illuminated by consideration of long-running philosophical debates concerning perceptual realism, in particular by Locke’s (1689) distinction between primary and secondary properties, and Kant’s (1781) empirical realism. Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1920), Picasso’s dealer and early authority on cubism, interpreted Picasso and Braque as Kantian in their approach. I reject his influential interpretation, but propose a more plausible, Kantian reading of cubism.

  • Issue Year: 7/2018
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 30-37
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: English