On Brooklyn Bridge 1917

Albert Gleizes made this oil on canvas painting, titled "On Brooklyn Bridge," sometime around 1915. Gleizes was part of the avant-garde group of artists working in France and who became known as Cubists. In this period, some European artists, like Gleizes, felt that their societies had stagnated and looked to the United States as a model of modernization and innovation. Gleizes came to New York in 1915. He was fascinated by the city's architecture and infrastructure, and he saw the Brooklyn Bridge as a symbol of American progress. The painting attempts to capture the energy and dynamism of the modern city through fragmented forms, geometric shapes, and bold colors. Cubist artists challenged the traditional institutions of art by rejecting the idea that painting should simply imitate reality. By looking at exhibition records, critical reviews, and the writings of the artists themselves, we can better understand how Cubism helped revolutionize the role of art in society.