Cubism was a rational attempt in revaluating volume and special relations, and a starting point for the many of the subsequent modern art movement. The continuance of the constructive experiences of cubists gave birth to various geometric abstract trends; and this kind of abstraction also paved the road for the optic-kinetic art, various hard-edge painting and minimal structures.

Cubism had its roots in one of Cézanne's theory according which the natural forms are made of the geometrical elements. Aesthetic principles of Cubism developed jointly by Picasso and Braque between 1907 and 1914; and Juan Gris, Fernand Léger, Robert Delaunay, Frantisek Kupka, Jacques Villon and some other artists also contributed to its development and deepening.

The term "cubism" apparently was coined by the French critic Louise Vauxcelles. According to Henry Matisse, he used it to ridicule the "little cubes" of Braque; but later, the term was accepted by the artists themselves.

Cubism developed in three more or less distinctive phases. In the first phase (Proto-Cubism), Braque began to explore the structural qualities of Cézanne's late works; and Picasso also by studying the formal principles of the African and Iberian sculptures took a parallel way. The most important outcomes of these experiments were depicting the different aspects of objects, simplifying the form and decreasing the depth of pictorial space.

In the second phase (Analytical Cubism), Picasso and Braque used the same method in construction of their paintings. They analyzed the form of objects or figures to geometric "facets" and reconstructed it anew. The facets were small shaded areas encompassed by straight or curved lines. The method of shading made facets seem concave or convex; but their edge and contours eliminated this illusion. In this way, the depth of pictorial space decreased more and more; objects also became indistinguishable, without loosing their tangible and actual quality. This trend arrived at its conclusion with collages, which meant more emphasis on the materiality of the things. The paintings of this period were mostly monochrome.