cubism means an artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 81 out of 100.
cubism is pronounced /ˈkjuː.bɪz.əm/.
Why “cubism” is a great word
An early-20th-century avant-garde art movement characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes. From French cubisme, from cube (from Latin cubus, from Ancient Greek κύβος (kúbos, "cube, die")). The term was popularized, if not coined, by French art critic Louis Vauxcelles in 1908. Unlike Impressionism, which seeks to capture the fleeting impression of light, or Realism, which aims for truthful representation, Cubism is an analytical act of dissection and reconstruction. It is the fragmented facets of a violin scattered across a canvas, the simultaneous profile and full-face of a solitary figure, and a still life where a newspaper and a glass become an architecture of intersecting angles—a proof that all we perceive is merely a facet of a greater, fractured truth.
Etymology
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)).
noun
- An artistic movement in the early 20th Century characterized by the depiction of natural forms as geometric structures of planes.“Matisse coined the name Cubism as a derisive joke.”
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