Composición 1918

María Blanchard made this oil painting, Composición, in the style of Cubism. The image breaks down objects – a bowl of fruit perhaps – into geometric forms. Blanchard was Spanish, but she spent most of her working life in Paris, where she encountered a conservative artistic establishment. It's fair to say that Cubism, as a style, was shocking to the traditionalists. Blanchard had close contact with other Cubists like Juan Gris. But her Cubism is distinctive, using sombre, muted tones and often depicting domestic scenes and isolated figures. In this respect, the painting could be seen as a comment on social isolation and as a representation of a fragmented world. To understand Blanchard’s work, we can research the history of Parisian art schools and the evolving definitions of modernism. By doing so, we can explore the ways art challenges conventional tastes and reflects individual experience.