Art Term

Papier collé

French term which translates as pasted paper, papier collé is a specific form of collage that is closer to drawing than painting

The cubist painter Georges Braque first used it when he drew on imitation wood-grain paper that had been pasted onto white paper. Both Braque and Pablo Picasso made a number of papiers collés in the last three months of 1912 and in early 1913, with Picasso substituting the wood-grain paper favoured by Braque with pages from the newspaper Le Journal in an attempt to introduce the reality of everyday life into the pictures.

Picasso also developed the idea of the papier collé into a three-dimensional assemblage when he made Guitar in 1912.

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