Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash - Balla

We just learned about the painting Elegant Ball, Dance in the Country by Marie Laurencin.

Another famous work of art is the painting Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash by Italian artist Giacomo Balla in 1912.

This artist was famous for helping come up with the kind of art known as Futurism.
During the time of his paintings, there were many great inventions like the car and the airplane, and people really liked new fast and exciting things.

In Futurist paintings, the artists tried to make it look like things were moving fast.

(from: wikipedia - giacomo balla)


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Le Bal élégant, La Danse à la campagne - Laurencin

We just learned about the famous painting Personnage écrivant by Polish artist Louis Marcoussis.

Another famous work of art is the painting Le Bal élégant, La Danse à la campagne by French artist Marie Laurencin, in 1913.

The French name for the painting means Elegant Ball, Dance in the Country.

Marie Laurencin was part of the Cubism movement with artists like Picasso, but focused mostly on paintings of women, and used curves more than sharp edges.


(from: wikipedia - marie laurencin)


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Personnage Écrivant - Marcoussis

We just learned about the famous painting Woman with a Fan by Jean Metzinger.

Another famous work of art is the painting Personnage écrivant by Polish artist Louis Marcoussis in 1931.
Marcoussis was born in Poland, but moved to Paris, France and did most of his art there because many of his fellow artists lived and worked there.
He even changed his name which was originally Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus to be Louis Marcoussis so that he would fit in better in France.

He worked with other cubism artists like Picasso, and made abstract art pieces like this one that showed a picture of a person at a desk writing.


(from: wikipedia - louis marcoussis)


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Woman with a Fan - Metzinger

We just learned about the painting Portrait of Jacques Nayral by French artist Albert Gleizes.

Another famous work of art is the painting Woman with a Fan by French artist Jean Metzinger in 1912.

This is another painting in the abstract art style of cubism.
You can see in the painting that there is a woman with a fan, sitting on a bench.
The different shapes and colors are there to show the many different sides and different shapes in the world, and the wild shapes almost make it look like the painting is moving.


(from: wikipedia - femme à l'éventail)


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Simultaneous Windows on the City - Delaunay

We just learned about the famous painting Woman in Blue by artist Fernard Léger.

Another famous work of art is the painting Simultaneous Windows on the City by French artist Robert Delaunay in 1912.

Delaunay was another artist who was part of the abstract art and cubism movement.

His paintings used strong colors and shapes to try and show a different artistic side to something real, like his painting of windows looking out on the city.


(from: wikipedia - robert delaunay)


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Woman in Blue - Léger

We just learned about the famous work of art Fruit Dish on a Checkered Tablecloth - GrisHouses at L'Estaque by French painter Georges Braque.

Another famous work of art is the painting Woman in Blue by French painter Fernand Léger.

Léger's painting is a part of the Cubism style of Abstract Art.
In his style, he sometimes used lots of shaded shapes that looked like tubes. So some artists nicknamed his style tubism instead of cubism.

In his painting Woman in Blue, he used shapes to try and make a different picture of a woman using interesting shapes.


(from: wikipedia - fernard léger)


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Fruit Dish on a Checkered Tablecloth - Gris

We just learned about the famous work of art Houses at L'Estaque by French painter Georges Braque.

Another famous work of art is the painting Houses at Fruit Dish on a Checkered Tablecloth by Spanish painter Juan Gris in 1917.

Juan Gris's painting is a part of the Cubism style of Abstract Art, where the painter liked to use lines and triangles to try to show a different side of a picture, making it look very strange, but still very interesting.


(from: wikipedia - Juan Gris)


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Houses at L'Estaque - Braque

We just learned about the famous work of art Farewell by August Macke.

Another famous work of art is the painting Houses at l'Estaque by French painter Georges Braque.

This was a painting of some houses in the French town of L'Estaque.
Looking at the painting, it may be hard to tell what the shapes are, because it looks like cubes, triangles and lines.
When one of the art critics saw Braque's painting, he said it looked like little cubes, and because of that this type of art was nicknamed Cubism.

Braque was very famous for helping start the Cubism movement, along with Pablo Picasso.


(from: wikipedia - houses at l'estaque)


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Broadway Boogie Woogie - Mondrian

We just learned about the painting Charing Cross Bridge by artist André Derain.

Another famous work of art is Broadway Boogie Woogie by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian in 1943.

When the painter moved to New York, he was impressed by the city streets forming a grid in New York city, and he really liked the music called boogie woogie music.
The lines and sounds are for the cars and people moving all over in the city.
And the colors help give the feel of the fun boogie woogie music.


(from: wikipedia - broadway boogie-woogie)


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First Abstract Watercolor - Kandinsky

We just learned about the work of art Primavera by Sandro Botticelli.

Another famous work of art is the painting First Abstract Watercolor by Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky in 1910.

Around the time Kandinsky painted this, people were starting to change the way they made art.
For a very long time artists tried as hard as they could to make paintings that looked real.
But people started to want to make paintings that were different, like paintings that didn't look like people or things or really anything at all.
They called this style Abstract Art.

Kandinsky's First Abstract Watercolor is just a bunch of shapes and colors, and isn't really supposed to be a picture of anything.
It really doesn't even have a name, it's just the first abstract painting he did in water color, so they call it Kandinsky's First Abstract Watercolor.

Many other artists made abstract paintings after Kandinsky, but people usually think of his painting as the first ever famous abstract art painting.

(from: wikipedia - kandinsky's first abstract watercolor)


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