Cubism has been called the first and the most influential of all movements in 20th-century art. In Cubism, the subject matter is broken up, analyzed, and reassembled in an abstracted form. Picasso and Braque initiated the movement when they followed the advice of Paul Cézanne, who in 1904 said artists should treat nature "in terms of the cylinder, the sphere and the cone." Picasso and Braque found the concepts for cubism through primitive art like African tribal masks, Iberian sculpture, and Egyptian bas-reliefs and from the works of Paul Cézanne, especially his late still life and landscapes where he had introduced a new geometry in forms. In 1907, Picasso merged the two in the work that most regard as the beginning of modern contemporary art the Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. Closer home, Jehangir Sabawala is regarded as one of the greatest Indian exponents of cubism. In March 1909 the French critic Louis Vauxcelles, reviewing the Salon des Indépendants, referred disparagingly to Braque's style as one that "reduces everything to little cubes" - hence, came about the term – Cubism.

Jehangir Sabawala:

Modern Indian painter Jehangir Sabavala set a new world record with his "The Casuarina Line I" selling at Rs 1.7 crores at the Saffronart's summer online auction early this year.The Mumbai-based Sabavala, whose art is a blend of impressionist and cubist styles of painting sold for a personal record price according to figures released by the online auction house.Casuarina Line, a serene landscape, was acquired by an Indian-origin buyer for Rs 1.7 crore far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of Rs 50 lakh.

Born in Mumbai in 1922, Jehangir Sabavala, grandson of Sir Cawasjee, obtained his diploma from the J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1944. Between 1945-47, he went to study at the Heatherley School of Art, London, and from there on to Paris where he was enrolled at the Academic Andre Lhote between 1948-51 and the Academic Julian between 1953-54. In 1957, he did a course from the Academic de la Grande Chaumiere. In 1977, Sabavala was awarded the Padma Shri.

|