Albert Gleizes

Born in Paris in 1881, Gleizes grew up in an artistic environment with a fabric designer father and a Prix de Rome-winning uncle. He was self-taught, initially painting in an Impressionist style influenced by Pissarro.¹

In 1906, he co-founded the Abbaye de Créteil, a self-supporting community for artists to work free from commercial concerns. Despite its utopian goals, it closed after two years due to a lack of income.¹

Around 1908, after a brief Fauve influence, he transitioned to proto-Cubism, reducing natural forms to primary shapes. His style emphasized structural rhythms, closer to the Pont-Aven School than to Cézanne.¹

From 1910, he met regularly with Metzinger, Léger, and others at Le Fauconnier's studio. Along with writers like Apollinaire, they discussed a new art focused on the 'research into form' rather than color.¹

His exhibition in Salle 41 at the 1911 Salon des Indépendants brought Cubism to public attention. It caused a scandal, with critics dismissing the group as 'ignorant geometers' reducing the body to cubes.¹

In 1912, he and Jean Metzinger wrote 'Du Cubisme,' the first major treatise on the movement. It provided a theoretical foundation for Cubism and significantly influenced future generations of artists.¹

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Gleizes spent four crucial years in New York during WWI, playing a key role in introducing modern art to America. He was active in the Society of Independent Artists, stimulating the local art scene.¹

From the mid-1920s to the late 1930s, he focused on writing. In works like 'La Peinture et ses lois,' he theorized his artistic philosophy and the evolution of plastic consciousness.¹

He was a founder and director of the international group Abstraction-Création. He played a vital role as a bridge between Cubism and the development of abstract painting.¹