Tate Kids Explains Cubism in Animated Short

The Tate London has released a five-minute animated video titled "What is Cubism?" on its YouTube channel #TateKids, explaining the history and key figures of the Cubist movement. The video recounts how the term "Cubism" originated when Henri Matisse, viewing six paintings by the 26-year-old Georges Braque made from torn posters collected from Paris walls, called them "absurd" because they were composed of "little cubes." It highlights the creative friendship between Braque and Pablo Picasso, who despite contrasting temperaments—Braque reserved and methodical, Picasso impulsive and sociable—shared a desire to create art that surprised viewers. Inspired by prehistoric, indigenous, and Eastern art, they aimed to depict objects from multiple viewpoints simultaneously. The video distinguishes between analytical Cubism, which breaks down objects to show multiple angles, and synthetic Cubism, which combines details like a puzzle for the viewer to intuit. It notes that Cubism influenced later movements such as Orphism by Robert and Sonia Delaunay, and that World War I halted its momentum, causing Braque and Picasso to part ways. Despite its brief span from 1908 to 1914, Cubism revolutionized art history.