The idea in this piece of art is that the building is reducing to several cubes, and shading is given more importance than the drawing to create an artistic impression. This was also the first time that Braque had progressed to using cubes to depict scenery beyond the building.
The painting was done just before Braque was called on to serve in the military. In the summer of 1909, he took a holiday at La Roche-Guyon, located on the Seine near Paris.
While there, he was intrigued by the old chateau, built in the 12th century, and wanted to paint it. He did five paintings of the same building, which provided excellent material for his skills.
The oil painting was completed in 1909 in France. Currently, it is hanging at the Van Abbemuseum at Eindhoven in the Netherlands.
Georges Braque was a French painter, who also dabbled in drawing, printing, collage, and printing. He was a proponent of Fauvism, and his works were excellent examples of the Cubist style of art. He, along with Pablo Picasso, could be considered the inventors of Cubism.
Some of Braque's well-known works include Plate and Fruit Dish, Rum and Guitar, and The Olive tree near l'Estaque. Braque and Picasso spent a lot of time working together, but he was not the only influence on Braque. He was also highly influenced by Paul Gauguin and Paul Cézanne.
World War I put a stop to all the lovely work and Braque had to enlist into the French army in 1914. He was injured in war in the battle of Carency and suffered a head injury.
The war also gave him blindness, which luckily for art, did not last long. Braque began working again at his paintings in 1916 from a fresh perspective.
