The cubism movement began during the early 20th century, with artists such as Picasso and Braque using the 2-dimensional, geometric style with flair. Cubism’s style is instantly recognizable as it is completely unique. The images depicted are not lifelike at all, and they are not meant to be so.
The style is obvious in Picasso’s ‘Girl with Mandolin’ or ‘The Weeping Woman’, both depict females, but not in the way you might expect to see in a painting. There is no depth to the image, the geometric lines are sharp and rather harsh for portraits, and you may even need to squint a little to see what the painting is supposed to be. Even so, they are beautiful images and perfect exampled of the cubism movement.
Cubism paintings often show different vantage points of the subject in the same image, so a face might be in profile, but show both a right and a left side, think ‘Girl before a Mirror’ by Pablo Picasso or ‘Nude Descending a Staircase’ by Marcel Duchamp.
Cubism is not just abstract art, it is more historical than that, however, it was a very strong influence on the abstract movement.