Analytical Cubism is the term used to describe the stylistic phase that followed Early Cubism, which is to be located between 1910 and 1912. As the term implies, Analytical Cubism focuses on the analysis of what is depicted, its exploratory fragmentation into individual fragments.
The starting points of Analytical Cubism were the rejection of a fixed point of view and the associated principle of simultaneity. Multiple views of the object to be depicted were now shown simultaneously, whereby the faceted individual forms were placed in diverse, rhythmic relationships to each other and to their surroundings. The form thus finally lost its fixed outline and its volume; it was, as it were, newly constructed from interpenetrating individual views. The concentration on form also entailed the use of tondo or oval formats that could reduce the area of the background. A clear reduction of the colouring was also the consequence, which was now limited to broken tones (brown, grey, bluish) in combination with white or black lines for partial delimitation. In Analytical Cubism, the style is usually open and painterly, and the motifs often focus on everyday objects.
Pablo Picasso's "Portrait of the Art Dealer Ambroise Vollard" (1910) or Georges Braque's "Jug and Violin" (1910) can serve as examples of Analytical Cubism. In addition to these two painters, Juan Gris and Fernand Léger also began their experiments with form in Analytical Cubism.
In a phase within Analytical Cubism known as "Hermetic Cubism", the style approached total abstraction, but around 1912 it rediscovered its closeness to the object, which was now also partly reinforced by the indication of materialities. It was in this context that the first material collages were created, such as Picasso's "Still Life with Cane Chair Weave", (1912), which, along with the preparation of abstraction, are among the most far-reaching innovations of Cubism.