A substantial work, it measures 1.3 metres by 70 cm. The muted palette of ochre and grey and the abstract rendition of the image are typically Cubist.
The painting also marks the development of Braque's Synthetic Cubist phase, which lasted from 1911 - 1914. In keeping with Georges' work at this time, Woman with a Guitar includes elements of printed text, typical of Georges use of collage around that time.
Woman with a Guitar now hangs in the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Georges Braque (1882-1963) was a notable French artist who played a key role in the development of the Cubist Movement.
Born in Argenteuil, Georges grew up in the Norman city of Le Havre. Like his father and grandfather, Georges trained as a painter and decorator. He also studied art in the evenings at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts in Le Havre and later at the Academie Humbert in Paris.
Initially, Georges' style was influenced by Impressionism, then by the Fauvists who used bright, simple colours to communicate an emotional immediacy. His work in the Fauvist style was exhibited in 1907 in the Salon des Independants.
From 1908, Braque began a radical exploration of the use of light and perspective in art, querying fundamental artistic conventions. He began to paint in an abstract style that emphasised the breakdown of an image into geometric shapes.
The painting The Houses at Estaque is a key example of his work at this stage.
Braque's collaboration with fellow Montmartre resident Pablo Picasso, who had been experimenting along similar lines, led to their joint development of the Cubist Movement.
Picasso was influenced by Impressionist painters such as Cezanne and Gauguin as well as traditional art forms such as African masks.
The term Cubism began to be applied to the movement from around 1911, referring to a circle of artists who exhibited at the Salon des Independants. The movement's influence and popularity spread rapidly through Europe and America.
