Analytical vs. Synthetic Cubism: A Timeline with Examples (1907–1919)

Ten‑Second Definition

Cubism takes what you see—figures, guitars, café tables—and rebuilds them as overlapping facets on a flat surface. The result looks fractured yet remains tied to things in the world. Co‑developed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in Paris (c. 1907–1914), it moves from the muted, tightly interlocked planes of Analytical Cubism to the collage‑rich, color‑forward logic of Synthetic Cubism (c. 1912–1914). The name “Cubism” was coined by critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1908 in response to Braque’s L’Estaque landscapes, a milestone The Met highlights in its overview essay. See The Met’s Cubism essay and Tate’s glossary for concise definitions.

The Timeline (1907–1919)

• 1907 — Picasso paints Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (MoMA): an aggressive, fractured space that detonates academic perspective and sets up Cubism’s proto logic. Explore the collection entry at MoMA.
• 1908 — Braque’s L’Estaque landscapes prompt Vauxcelles’s label “Cubism.” The critical naming helps consolidate a new method: simplifying forms into geometric facets. Background via The Met.
• 1909–1910 — Early Analytical Cubism: limited palette, faceted forms, and shallow, interlocking space. Exemplars include Braque’s studio still lifes and Picasso’s Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier) (1910), on view at MoMA; see the object page here.
• 1911–1912 — Peak Analytic: even denser planar fragmentation, with stenciled letters and numbers edging into the picture. In 1912, papier collé (pasted paper) enters the toolkit—newsprint, wallpaper, labels—shifting Cubism toward a new material reality. See The Met’s discussion of papiers collés in its Cubism essay and Tate’s term page for papier collé.
• 1912–1914 — Synthetic Cubism: brighter color, larger, flatter shapes, pasted papers, and a “constructional” logic that sets the stage for geometric abstraction. The Met’s Geometric Abstraction entry traces this pivot.
• 1915–1919 — Juan Gris clarifies Cubism’s vocabulary with crystalline order and legible silhouettes. Key NGA anchors: Fantômas (1915) — object page here — and Glass and Checkerboard (c. 1917) — here.

For a museum‑curated term page that gathers core works across this period, see MoMA’s Cubism entry.

Analytical vs. Synthetic Cubism—What to Look For

Side‑by‑Side Comparison

Spotter’s tip: If you see pasted paper and bolder color blocks → Synthetic. If it’s all paint with tight, continuous facets → Analytical. For definitions of papier collé vs. collage, see Tate.

Case Study: Juan Gris Makes It Legible

While Picasso and Braque invented the language, Juan Gris made its grammar legible. His Synthetic Cubism balances flat color with crisp contour so students can literally “read” how forms are built.

In Fantômas (1915), a playbill and bits of Le Journal punctuate wood‑grain passages that flip between painted illusion and “real” pasted surface logic—a hallmark of Synthetic Cubism. Outlines float across planes to knit the whole together. Because the collage vocabulary is explicit, learners can identify how text, texture, and silhouette co‑operate.

In Glass and Checkerboard (c. 1917), a clear check motif anchors the composition while colored planes hover like inlaid pieces. The geometry feels “constructed,” anticipating geometric abstraction—an arc The Met maps in its Geometric Abstraction overview.

Practical note for educators and editors: Gris died in 1927, so many reproductions of his work are public domain in multiple jurisdictions, and the NGA provides Open Access images of these paintings.

How Cézanne & Collage Changed the Game

The formal spark for Analytical Cubism comes from Paul Cézanne’s faceting: his “constructive” strokes describe forms as angled planes rather than soft modeling. Picasso and Braque tightened this into a planar system, compressing depth so that multiple viewpoints interlock on the surface.

The 1912 pivot is collage. With papier collé, Cubists paste newsprint, wallpaper, and labels into still lifes. Instead of painting a newspaper, they include a piece of actual newspaper—collapsing the difference between image and thing. The Met notes a run of papiers collés in 1912–13 that stripped away remaining illusionism in late Analytic work; Tate’s term page clarifies how papier collé differs narrowly from “collage” in being paper‑only. See The Met’s Cubism essay and Tate.

Influence: From Futurism to De Stijl & Constructivism

Cubism’s structural grammar—planes, grids, assembly—spread quickly. Futurism injected velocity into Cubist fragmentation (see the Guggenheim’s overview and exhibition context for Italian Futurism: Guggenheim). De Stijl systematized planes and orthogonals into a universal vocabulary (movement page at Guggenheim). Constructivism fused engineering logic with type and photomontage, extending Cubist construction into design (movement page at Guggenheim).

A canonical map of these exchanges is MoMA’s 1936 exhibition Cubism and Abstract Art, which laid out a genealogy from Cubism to later abstract movements (see MoMA’s exhibition page here).

For deeper movement‑to‑movement comparisons within our own series, see:
• De Stijl (Neoplasticism): The Dutch Movement that Made Modern Minimalism (1917–1931)
• Constructivism (1913–1930s): How It Built Modern Design
• Futurism: The Art Movement that Painted Speed, Sound, and the Modern City

Quick Spotter’s Checklist (Students/Teachers)

• Facets: are forms broken into angled planes that knit together on the surface?
• Space: is depth shallow and interlocking rather than deep and window‑like?
• Letters/labels: do stenciled characters or brand marks cut across forms?
• Collage: do you see pasted paper (newsprint, wallpaper) or faux textures (papier collé)?
• Silhouette clarity: are figure/ground edges crisp (Synthetic) or dissolved into facets (Analytical)?

Classroom useCubism examples

Where to See It (Museum Examples)

In New York, MoMA’s fifth‑floor collection galleries frequently present early Cubism (Demoiselles and Analytic paintings often appear in Galleries 502–503; see the museum’s Cubism term page). Paris (Centre Pompidou), Madrid (Museo Reina Sofía), and Washington, DC (NGA) hold strong Cubist rooms and open‑access images. For clear definitions and a quick orientation, Tate’s glossary for Cubism is a reliable anchor.

FAQs

What’s the difference between Analytical and Synthetic Cubism?

Analytical Cubism (c. 1909–1912) uses muted color and dense facets to compress depth; Synthetic Cubism (c. 1912–1914) assembles larger flat shapes and pasted papers (papier collé) with clearer silhouettes. Both stay tied to real objects, but the second phase feels more constructed and graphic.

Why did Cubists add collage (papier collé) in 1912?

Pasted materials let “reality” enter the picture—newsprint, wallpaper, and labels are themselves subjects and textures. This collapses illusion and accelerates the move from Analytic faceting to Synthetic assembly. See The Met’s discussion of papiers collés in its Cubism essay and Tate’s papier collé term.

Did Cubism abandon realism completely?

No. Cubism rethinks how we see rather than abandoning the world. Subjects remain bottles, guitars, café tables, and faces, but they’re shown from multiple viewpoints and re‑assembled as facets on the surface. Museums emphasize that Cubist images are not fully abstract.

How did Cézanne influence Cubism?

Cézanne’s faceted, “constructive” brushwork treats forms as planes. Picasso and Braque systematized this into Analytic Cubism, fusing many views and compressing space. That planar logic is the seed of Cubist fragmentation and the later constructional feel of Synthetic work.

Who is Juan Gris and why is he important to Cubism?

Gris (1887–1927) clarifies Synthetic Cubism with crystalline order and legible silhouettes. Works like Fantômas (1915, NGA) and Glass and Checkerboard (c. 1917, NGA) help students see how pasted papers, color blocks, and outline “lock” a composition together.

What are typical Cubist colors?

Analytic palettes are restrained—browns, grays, greens—supporting tight faceting. Synthetic palettes brighten into cleaner color blocks that read more like assembled elements. Many Cubist still lifes use limited contrast so forms knit into a single surface.

Which artworks are good student examples?

For Analytical Cubism: Picasso’s Girl with a Mandolin (1910, MoMA) and the CMA’s Bottle, Glass, Fork (1912). For Synthetic Cubism: Picasso/Braque papiers collés and Juan Gris’s Fantômas (1915) and Glass and Checkerboard (c. 1917, NGA).

How did Cubism influence design and typography?

Cubism’s structure—planes, grids, stenciled letters—fed modern graphic design. Movements like Constructivism used type + image and photomontage self‑consciously; De Stijl codified grids for painting and architecture. MoMA’s 1936 Cubism and Abstract Art mapped this lineage.

Is Cubism the same as De Stijl?

No. Cubism analyzes and reassembles objects from multiple viewpoints; De Stijl reduces to horizontal/vertical lines and primary colors to propose a universal order. They share an abstract impulse, but their aims and vocabularies differ.

What’s a simple Cubism classroom exercise?

Pick a familiar object (guitar, bottle). Draw it from three angles, then overlap those views into one composition of facets. Limit your palette (Analytic) or cut and paste text and patterned paper to build clear silhouettes (Synthetic).

Keep Reading

Cubism isn’t only a look—it’s a toolbox for analyzing and assembling images. If you’re exploring modern movements, our Art History series maps how ideas jumped across painting, design, and architecture. Start with our guides to De Stijl, Constructivism, and Futurism (linked above) to see Cubism’s ripple effects. Browse the full series in the Art History category.