(b Argenteuil, 13 May 1882; d Paris, 31 Aug. 1963). French painter, graphic artist, and designer. Initially he followed his father's trade of house painter, but in 1902–4 he took lessons at various art schools in Paris, including briefly the École des Beaux-Arts. Through his friendship with his fellow students Dufy and Friesz, he was drawn into the circle of the Fauves, and in 1905–7 he painted in their brightly coloured, impulsive manner. In 1907, however, two key events completely changed the direction of his work: first, he was immensely impressed by the Cézanne memorial exhibition at the Salon d'Automne; and secondly, he met Picasso, in whose studio he saw Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Although he was initially disconcerted by it, he soon began experimenting with the dislocation and fragmentation of form it had introduced, and the two men worked in close association until the outbreak of the First World War, jointly creating Cubism.

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)


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