Cubism was an art movement started in 1907 by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They were inspired by African sculpture and by the artist Paul Cezanne who said that nature should be thought of in terms of basic shapes. Picasso and Braque broke their subjects into flat surfaces and often painted with muted tones such as grays and tans.

Art Exploration students observed examples of Cubism and then worked to abstract a subject of their choice by breaking it into patterned shapes.  The drawings were then shaded in pencil using a large range of values (from light to dark).