Albert Gleizes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes, circa 1920
Born	Albert Léon Gleizes (1881-12-08)8 December 1881 Paris, France
Died	23 June 1953(1953-06-23) (aged 71) Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
Known for	Painting, writing
Notable work	Le Chemin, Paysage à Meudon (1911) Harvest Threshing (1912) Les Baigneuses (1912) Les Joueurs de football (1912–13) Man in a Hammock (1913) Portrait of an Army Doctor (1914–15) Woman with Black Glove (1920)
Movement	Cubism, Abstract art, Abstraction-Création
Spouse(s)	Juliette Roche ​ (m. 1915⁠–⁠1953)​

Albert Gleizes (French: [glɛz]; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a famous French artist and thinker. He is known as one of the main people who helped create Cubism, a new style of art. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first important book about Cubism, called Du "Cubisme", in 1912. Gleizes was also a founding member of the Section d'Or group of artists. He played a big part in introducing modern art to America during his four years in New York.

Early Life and Art Beginnings

Albert Gleizes, 1909, Bords de la Marne

Albert Gleizes, 1910, La Femme aux Phlox (Woman with Phlox)

Albert Léon Gleizes was born and grew up in Paris. His father designed fabrics. Albert didn't enjoy school much. He often skipped classes to write poetry and explore the Montmartre cemetery.

After finishing school, Gleizes served in the French army for four years. Around 1901, he began to paint by himself, learning as he went. His early paintings were in the Impressionist style. They showed landscapes around Courbevoie.

In 1902, when he was only 21, his painting La Seine à Asnières was shown. He also exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in 1903. In 1905, Gleizes helped start l'Association Ernest-Renan. This group was against military propaganda.

Gleizes and other artists decided to live and work together. They rented a large house in Créteil. This community, called the Abbaye de Créteil, aimed to create art without worrying about money. After about a year, they had to leave due to lack of funds. Gleizes then moved to Paris.

In 1908, Gleizes showed his work in Moscow. Around this time, his art started to change. It became more geometric, showing early signs of Cubism. He focused on simplifying shapes in nature.

Cubism: A New Way of Seeing

Discovering Cubism

Albert Gleizes, 1911, Portrait de Jacques Nayral

Albert Gleizes, 1911, Stilleben, Nature Morte

Albert Gleizes, 1912, Landschaft bei Paris, Paysage près de Paris

In 1910, Gleizes showed his paintings at the Salon des Indépendants. His works, like Portrait de René Arcos, began to focus on simplified forms. A critic, Louis Vauxcelles, described these artists as "ignorant geometers, reducing the human body... to pallid cubes." This was one of the first times the term "Cubism" was used.

In 1911, Gleizes exhibited La Femme aux Phlox at the Salon des Indépendants. This show caused a public stir and brought Cubism to wider attention. Unlike Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who showed their Cubist works privately, Gleizes and his group exhibited theirs for everyone to see.

Later that year, Gleizes met Picasso and joined the Puteaux Group. This group included artists like Marcel Duchamp and Fernand Léger. They often met in Montparnasse cafés.

Cubism's Ideas

Albert Gleizes, 1912, Les Baigneuses (The Bathers)

Albert Gleizes, Les Maison, Landscape (1910-11)

Albert Gleizes, 1912, L'Homme au Balcon, Man on a Balcony

From 1911 to 1912, Gleizes started painting objects as if seen from many viewpoints at once. This was a key idea in Cubism. His large painting, Le Dépiquage des Moissons (Harvest Threshing) (1912), shows this complex technique.

In 1912, Gleizes and Jean Metzinger published Du "Cubisme". This book was the first major explanation of Cubism. They wrote that Cubism was not just about geometry. It was about showing objects in a new way, as if seen from different angles and over time. They believed this gave a truer picture of the real world, which is always moving and changing.

Gleizes wanted to show the solidity and structure of objects using volumes. He believed that art should not just copy what we see. Instead, it should express our "sensations" or feelings about the world.

Cubism Goes Global

Albert Gleizes, 1912–13, Les Joueurs de football (Football Players)

Albert Gleizes, 1913, L'Homme au Hamac (Man in a Hammock)

In February 1913, Gleizes and other artists brought modern European art to America. They showed their work at the Armory Show in New York City, Chicago, and Boston. Gleizes exhibited Man on a Balcony and Femme aux Phlox.

When World War I started, Albert Gleizes joined the French army. He helped organize entertainment for the troops. After being discharged in 1915, Gleizes and his wife, Juliette Roche, moved to New York.

In New York, Gleizes met other artists like Marcel Duchamp. He painted works inspired by jazz music, skyscrapers, and the Brooklyn Bridge. From New York, they traveled to Barcelona, where Gleizes had his first solo art show.

After the war, Gleizes and his wife returned to France. Around this time, Gleizes became more interested in religious ideas. This new belief influenced his art and writings.

Art and Ideas After the War

Albert Gleizes, 1920–23, Ecuyère (Horsewoman), oil on canvas

Albert Gleizes, 1913, Portrait de l’éditeur Eugène Figuière

Albert Gleizes, 1914, Woman with animals (La dame aux bêtes)

Albert Gleizes, 1914, Paysage cubiste, Arbre et fleuve (Cubist Landscape)

Albert Gleizes, 1914–15, Portrait of an Army Doctor

Albert Gleizes, 1915, Chal Post

Albert Gleizes, 1915, Composition for "Jazz"

Albert Gleizes, 1915, Brooklyn Bridge (Pont de Brooklyn)

Albert Gleizes, 1920, Femme au gant noir (Woman with Black Glove)

After World War I, many artists moved away from Cubism. But Gleizes believed Cubism still had much to explore. He tried to restart the Section d'Or group in 1920. He wanted to organize a big traveling art show to display how art had changed. However, it wasn't as successful as he hoped.

Gleizes continued to write about his art ideas. In 1922, he published Painting and its Laws (La Peinture et ses lois). In this book, he talked about "translation" and "rotation" in painting. These ideas helped explain how he created his abstract art. He believed that art should not just tell a story. Instead, it should use lines, shapes, and colors to create its own meaning.

Gleizes's paintings from the 1920s were very abstract. He was one of the most dedicated Cubist artists. He didn't follow other art trends like Dada or Surrealism. He believed his art could reach many people, like the old French murals. He even thought paintings could be mass-produced to make art more accessible.

In 1927, Gleizes started an artist's colony called Moly-Sabata [fr] in Sablons. This was like his earlier Abbaye de Créteil. He wanted artists to work together.

In the 1930s, Gleizes joined the Abstraction-Création committee. This group promoted non-representational art. His work also showed his growing religious beliefs. He wrote a book called Vers une conscience plastique, La Forme et l’histoire (1932), which looked at different art styles through history.

In 1937, Gleizes painted murals for the Paris World's Fair. He worked with other famous artists like Fernand Léger.

Albert Gleizes, 1911, Le Chemin, Paysage à Meudon

During the late 1930s, the art collector Peggy Guggenheim bought many of Gleizes's works. She brought them to the United States. Today, they are part of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Religious Influence

Albert Gleizes became a member of the Roman Catholic Church in 1941. His religious beliefs deeply influenced his later artworks. He created large, abstract paintings called Supports de Contemplation. These works were very complex and peaceful.

During World War II, Gleizes and his wife stayed in France. Materials were hard to find, so he painted on burlap. In 1952, he created his last major work, a fresco called Eucharist, for a Jesuit chapel.

Albert Gleizes passed away on 23 June 1953. He was buried in his wife's family tomb.

Art Market

In 2010, Gleizes's painting Le Chemin (Paysage à Meudon) (1911) sold for over 1.8 million British Pounds at Christie's, London.

Commemoration

To celebrate 100 years since Du "Cubisme" was published, the Musée de La Poste in Paris held an exhibition. It was called Gleizes – Metzinger. Du cubisme et après in 2012. The show featured over 80 paintings and drawings by Gleizes and Metzinger. It also included works by other Section d'Or artists. A French postage stamp was even issued, showing paintings by Gleizes and Metzinger.

Gallery

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1910, L'Arbre (The Tree)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1911, La Chasse (The Hunt)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1910–12, Les Arbres (The Trees)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1911, Paysage (Landscape, Les Maison)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1911, Stilleben, Nature Morte

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1912 (spring), Dessin pour L'Homme au balcon

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1912, Les ponts de Paris (Passy), The Bridges of Paris (Passy)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1912, Landschaft bei Paris, Paysage près de Paris

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1913, Les Bateaux de pêche (Fischerboote)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1914, Paysage avec un arbre (Landscape with Tree)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, c.1914, Dessin pour le Portrait de Stravinsky

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1914–15, Portrait de Florent Schmitt (Le Pianiste)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1915, Retour de Bois-le-Prêtre

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1915, Composition, For "Jazz", Pour "Jazz"

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1915, Broadway

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1915, Le Chant de guerre (Portrait de Florent Schmitt)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1915–16, Esquisse pour le portrait de Jean Cocteau

• 

  Albert Gleizes, Action, Cahiers Individualistes de philosophie et d'art, Volume 1, No. 1, February 1920

• 

  Albert Gleizes, c.1920, Figures planes (Trois personages assis)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1920, Ecuyère

• 

  Albert Gleizes, Woman and child (Femme et enfant, Frau und Kind)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, study for Femme au gants noirs, drawing (zeichnung)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, untitled, drawing (zeichnung)

• 

  Albert Gleizes, c.1920, L'Homme dans les maisons

• 

  Albert Gleizes, c.1920, L'Homme dans les maisons

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1920, Femme portant un enfant

• 

  Albert Gleizes, 1921, Composition bleu et jaune (Composition jaune)

Press Articles

• 

  Albert Gleizes, Portrait de Jacques Nayral (1911) and Jean Metzinger Le goûter (Tea Time) (1911)

• 

  Paintings by Albert Gleizes, 1910–11, Paysage, Landscape; Juan Gris (drawing); Jean Metzinger, c.1911, Nature morte, Compotier et cruche décorée de cerfs

• 

  Jean Metzinger, 1910–11, Paysage; Gino Severini, 1911, La danseuse obsedante; Albert Gleizes, 1912, l'Homme au Balcon, Man on a Balcony

• 

  Albert Gleizes and his wife Juliette Roche-Gleizes

• 

  Albert Gleizes (left) in front of his painting Jazz; Jean Crotti (center); Marcel Duchamp (right)

• 

  Albert Gleizes (with Chal Post, 1915); Marcel Duchamp; Jean Crotti; Hugo Robus; Stanton Macdonald-Wright; and Frances Simpson Stevens (center)

• 

  Paintings by Gino Severini, 1911, Souvenirs de Voyage; Albert Gleizes, 1912, Man on a Balcony, L’Homme au balcon; Severini, 1912–13, Portrait de Mlle Jeanne Paul-Fort; Luigi Russolo, 1911–12, La Révolte

Writings

Books

• Du "Cubisme", Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, Paris, Figuière, 1912
• Du Cubisme et des moyens de le comprendre, Paris, La Cible, Povolozky, 1920
• La Mission créatrice de l’Homme dans le domaine plastique, Paris, La Cible, Povolozky, 1921
• La Peinture et ses lois, ce qui devait sortir du Cubisme, Paris, 1924
• Tradition et Cubisme. Vers une conscience plastique. Articles et Conférences 1912–1924, Paris, La Cible, Povolozky, 1927
• Peinture et Perspective descriptive, conference at the Carnegie Foundation for l’Union Intellectuelle française, Paris, 22 March 1927. Sablons, Moly-Sabata, 1927
• Kubismus, Bauhausbücher 13, Munich, Albert Langen Verlag, 1928
• Vie et Mort de l’Occident Chrétien, Sablons, Moly-Sabata, 1930
• Vers une Conscience plastique : La Forme et l’Histoire, Paris, Povolozky, 1932
• Art et Science, Sablons, Moly-Sabata, 1933
• Homocentrisme; Le retour de l’Homme chrétien; Le Rythme dans les Arts plastiques, Sablons, Moly-Sabata, 1937
• La Signification Humaine du Cubisme, Lecture by Albert Gleizes at the Petit Palais, Paris, 18 July 1938, Sablons, Moly-Sabata, 1938
• Du Cubisme, Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, Paris, Compagnie Française des Arts Graphiques, 1947
• Souvenirs, le Cubisme 1908–1914, Lyon, Cahiers Albert Gleizes, L’Association des Amis d’Albert Gleizes, 1957
• Puissances du Cubisme, Chambéry, éditions Présence, 1969
• Art et religion, Art et science, Art et production, Chambéry, éditions Présence, 1970
• L'Homme devenu peintre, Paris, Fondation Albert Gleizes and Somogy éditions d'Art, 1998

Articles

• L'Art et ses représentants. Jean Metzinger, Revue Indépendante, Paris, September 1911
• Les Beaux Arts. A propos du Salon d'Automne, Les Bandeaux d'Or, séries 4, no. 13, 1911–1912
• Cubisme devant les Artistes, Les Annales politiques et littéraires, Paris, December 1912
• Le Cubisme et la Tradition, Montjoie!, Paris, 10 February 1913
• Opinions (Mes Tableaux), Montjoie!, Paris, nos. 11–12, November–December 1913
• C’est en allant se jeter à la mer que le fleuve reste fidèle à sa source, Le Mot, Paris, vol. I, no. 17, 1 Mai 1915
• French Artists Spur on American Art, New York Herald, 24 October 1915
• Interview with Gleizes (Duchamp, Picabia and Crotti), The Literary Digest, New York, 27 November 1915
• "La Peinture Moderne", 391, New York, no. 5, June 1917
• The Abbey of Créteil, A Communistic Experiment, The Modern School, Stelton, New Jersey, October 1918
• L’Affaire dada. Action, Paris, no. 3, April 1920
• Dieu Nouveau, La Vie des Lettres, Paris, October 1920
• Réhabilitation des Arts Plastiques, La Vie des Lettres et des Arts, Paris, series 2, no. 4, April 1921
• L'Etat du Cubisme aujourd'hui, La Vie des Lettres et des Arts, Paris, series 2, no. 15, 1922
• Tradition und Freiheit, Das Kunstblatt, Berlin, vol. 6, no. 1, 1922
• Ein Neuer Naturalismus? Eine Rundfrage des Kunstblatts, Das Kunstblatt, Berlin, vol. 6, no. 9, 1922
• Perle, La Bataille Littéraire, Brussels, vol. 4, no. 2, 25 February 1922
• La Peinture et ses Lois : Ce qui devait sortir du Cubisme, La Vie des Lettres et des Arts, Paris, series 2, no. 12, March 1923
• L’Art moderne et la Société nouvelle, Moniteur de l’Académie Socialiste, Moscou, 1923
• Où va la peinture moderne? Bulletin de l’Effort Moderne, Paris, no. 5, May 1924
• La Renaissance et la peinture d'aujourd'hui, La Vie des Lettres et des Arts, Paris, décembre 1924
• La Peinture et ses Lois, Bulletin de l’Effort Moderne, Paris, no. 5, May 1924, p. 4–9, no. 13, March 1925
• A propos de la Section d'Or de 1912, Les Arts Plastiques, Paris, no. 1, January,1925
• Chez les Cubistes: une enquête, Bulletin de la Vie Artistique, Paris, vol. 6, no. 1, January 1925
• L’inquiétude, Crise plastique, La Vie des Lettres et des Arts, Paris, series 2, no. 20, May 1925
• A l'Exposition, que pensez-vous du... Pavilion de Russie, Bulletin de la Vie Artistique, vol. 6, no. 11, 1 June 1925
• "Cubisme", La Vie des Lettres et des Arts, Paris, series 2, no. 21, 1926
• Cubisme (Vers une conscience plastique). Bulletin de l'Effort Moderne, Paris, No. 22, February 1926; No. 23, March 1926; No. 24, April 1926; no. 25, May 1926; No. 26, June 1926; no. 27, July 1926; no. 28, October 1926; no. 29, November 1926; no. 30, December 1926; no. 31, January 1927; no. 32, February 1927
• L’Epopée. De la Forme immobile à la Forme mobile, Le Rouge et le Noir, Paris, October 1929
• Charles Henry et le Vitalisme, Cahiers de l'Etoile, Paris, no. 13, January–February 1930
• Civilization et Propositions, La Semaine Egyptienne, Alexandria, 31 October 1932
• Moly-Sabata ou le Retour des Artistes au Village, Sud Magazine, Marseilles, no. 1021, 1 June 1932
• La Grande Ville et Ses Signes, La Liberté, Paris, 7 May 1933
• Vers la régénération intellectuelle, Naturisme du corps: naturisme de l'esprit, Régénération, Paris, new series, no. 46, July–August 1933
• Vers une conscience plastique, La Forme et l'Histoire, Sud, magazine méditerranéen, no. 104, 1–16 July 1933
• Propos de peintre, Almanach Vivarois 1933, Sous le signe de July 1933
• Le Retour de l’Homme à sa Vie, Jeunesse, and Jeunesse (suite), Régénération, Paris, no. 49, 50, 53, 1934
• Agriculture et Machinisme, Regeneration, Paris, no. 53, August–September 1934
• Le Groupe de l'Abbaye. La Nouvelle Abbaye de Moly-Sabata, Cahiers Américains, Paris, New York, no. 6, Winter 1934
• Le Retour à la Terre, Beaux-Arts, Paris, 14 December 1934
• Peinture et Peinture, Sud Magazine, Marseilles, no. 8, August 1935
• Retour à l’Homme. Mais à quel Homme?, December 1935
• Arabesques, Cahiers du Sud, (special edition), L’Islam et l’Occident, vol. 22, no. 175, August–September 1935
• La Question de Métier, Beaux-Arts, Paris, 9 October 1936
• Art Régional, Tous les Arts à Paris, Paris, 15 December 1936
• Le Problème de la Lumière, Cahiers du Sud, vol. 24, no. 192, March 1937
• Cubisme et Surréalisme: Deux Tentatives Pour Redécouvrir l'Homme, Deuxième Congrés international d'esthétique et de science de l'art, Paris, 1937
• Tradition et Modernisme, l'Art et les Artistes, Paris, no. 37, January 1939
• L'Oeuvre de Maurice Garnier, Sud Magazine, Marseille, mars-avril 1939
• Artistes et Artisans, L’Opinion, Cannes, 31 May 1941
• Spiritualité, Rythme, Forme, Confluences: Les Problèmes de la Peinture, Lyon, 1945
• Apollinaire, la Justice et Moi, Guillaume Apollinaire, Souvenirs et Témoignages, Paris, Editions de la Tête Noire, 1946
• L’Arc en Ciel, clé de l’Art chrétien médiéval, Les Etudes Philosophiques, new series, no. 2, April–June 1946
• Life and Death of the Christian West, Londres, Dennis Dobson Ltd., 1947
• Y a-t-il un Art Traditionnel Chrétien ?, Témoignages, Cahiers de la Pierre-qui-Vire, July 1948
• L’Art Sacré est Théologique et Symbolique, Arts, Paris, no. 148, 9 January 1948
• Active Tradition of the East and West, Art and Thought, Londres, February 1948
• Pourquoi j'illustre Les Pensées de Pascal, Arts, 24 March 1950
• Introduction au catalogue de l'exposition Les Pensées de Pascal, Chapelle de l’Oratoire, Avignon, 22 July – 31 August 1950
• Peinture d’Opinion et Peinture de Métier, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, June 1951
• Réflexions sur l’Art dit Abstrait et du Caractère de l’Image dans la Non-Figuration, I, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, October 1951
• Réflexions sur l’Art dit Abstrait et du Caractère de l’Image dans la Non-Figuration, II, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, January 1952
• L’Esprit fondamental de l’Art roman, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, September 1952
• Mentalité Renouvelée, I, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, December 1952
• Présence d’Albert Gleizes, Zodiaque, Saint-Léger-Vauban, no. 6–7, January 1952
• L’Esprit de ma fresque : L’Eucharistie, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, March 1953.
• Mentalité Renouvelée, Il, L’Atelier de la Rose, Lyon, June 1953
• Conformisme, Réforme et Révolution, Correspondences, Tunis, no. 2, 1954
• Un potier [sur Anne Dangar ], La belle Journée est passée, Zodiaque, Saint-Léger-Vauban, no. 25, April 1955.
• Caractères de l’Art Celtique, Actualité de l’Art Celtique, Cahiers d’Histoire et de Folklore, Lyon, 1956
• Souvenirs, le Cubisme 1908–1914, Lyon, Cahiers Albert Gleizes, L’Association des Amis d’Albert Gleizes, 1957
• Introduction à Mainie Jellett, The Artists’ Vision, Dundalk, Dundalgan Press, 1958
• Puissances du Cubisme, Chambéry, éditions Présence, 1969
• Art et religion, Art et science, Art et production, Chambéry, éditions Présence, 1970
• Fragments de notes inédites (1946), Zodiaque, n° 100, April 1974
• Du Cubisme, Jean Metzinger, Aubard (éditions Présence), 1980
• Albert Gleizes en 1934, Ampuis, Association des Amis d'Albert Gleizes, 1991
• Sujet et objet, deux lettres adressées à André Lhote, Ampuis, Association des Amis d’Albert Gleizes, 1996

Museum Collections

See Also

In Spanish: Albert Gleizes para niños

• The Cubist Painters, Aesthetic Meditations
• Crystal Cubism
• Anne Dangar
• Mainie Jellett
• Andrée Le Coultre
• Blanche Lazzell