Georges Braque

Although French painter Georges Braque (1882-1963) was highly respected and financially successful during his lifetime, his individuality and inventiveness have often been overshadowed by the even greater genius of Picasso, his collaborator in the development of cubism. In her succinct and illuminating text, Wilkin ( Stuart Davis ) traces Braque's career, beginning with his fauve period and his interest in Cezanne. She conveys a clear understanding of his style and technique, and demonstrates his integral role in the cubist experiment. While Picasso moved off in other directions, Braque, using the still life as his major theme, continued to develop and refine cubism for the rest of his career. This polished monograph, illustrated with scores of color and black-and-white reproductions, offers a highly satisfying account of an artist who, hardly ever delving beyond the intimate world of his studio for subject matter, transformed ordinary objects--guitars, tabletops, and fruit bowls--into masterpieces of form and color. (Mar.)