Georges Braque is one of the most renowned artists of the 20^th Century. He is credited with the creation of the visual arts style of Cubism, alongside Pablo Picasso, between 1907 and 1914. The French painter was born seven months after Picasso in a small town near Paris in the 1870s (Braque). His family, mainly his father and grandfather, were also painters. Braque was taught to be in tune with sports and music. At the young age of fifteen, he attended the Le Havre Academy and at 17 he pursued an apprenticeship in Paris. While an apprentice, Braque was educated in artistic techniques such as the imitation of wood grain that would later play a major part in his works (Braque). Braque’s paintings consist basically of still life.

Braque admired the work of the Fauves, who were a small group of artists that were known for their wild, vibrant art style. Along with the admiration of the explosion of colors, Braque followed the works of Matisse, Duffy, Derain, and others (Bordvick).

By 1911, Braque and Picasso paired up and the analytical phase became full blown. "Man and Guitar" is an example of this phase. It is characterized by the natural colors of brown, gray, and green (Braque). It seems to have many views, the space is flattened, and it has a kind of broken contour. Braque began to use the stenciling technique to create a feeling of autonomy as such in "The Portuguese" lettering. He also created what is exclaimed the first pasted-paper picture by using wallpaper in "Fruit Dish and Glass."

As Braque moved along in the Cubist movement, he kept an art studio in Montmartre, but he also rotated in going many other places for experience. After marrying in 1912 to Marcelle Lapre, Braque resided near Avignon (Braque). He decided to join the army as a sergeant once World War I began and was commended for his bravery. Braque suffered from a severe head injury in 1915 and spent a while in hospitals and institutions. In his stay, Braque recorded broken ideas and sayings that were ultimately collected by Braque’s friend and poet Pierre Reverdy and published as "Thoughts and Reflections on Painting."

After a period of healing, Braque returned to his artistic ability in the Cubist movement. Braque entered what is called a synthetic phase of Cubism. He began to use more colors and to represent objects through large planes. Braque created "Woman Musician" in 1917, which exhibited the geometric planes and strong colors of synthetic Cubism (Braque). He began to stray away from Cubism and began to draw with a flowing technique such as the smooth framework of "Still Life with Playing Cards." After this move, Braque experimented with pictures of pagan women, pedestal tables, birds, ancient Greek pottery, and figures. Braque finally won the Carnegie Prize in 1937. He became a world-renowned artist and in 1961 he received the highest honor—he became the first living artist to have his works displayed in the Louvre.

Cubism benchmarked a major artistic movement of the 20^th Century. From a Cubist standpoint, Braque painted from different viewpoints so that one felt as if they were able to move around within the painting (Bordvick). Through the use of various intertwining and rigid planes, he gave the illusion of volume and space. Many artists still thought of Cubism as a form of Realism because it incorporated real life; even still, it opened the window for artists to get as creative and different as they possible could (Watkins). The qualities of Cubism were respected for it was something boldly different.