New materials in 20th-century art The technique remains popular as a very simple method of printmaking, even suitable for use in schools. Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris and other cubist artists introduced new elements and materials like newspaper clippings, fabric, and sheet music into their paintings. Eventually the movement was called Synthetic Cubism developed between 1912 and 1919. Synthetic cubism is characterized by works with different textures, surfaces, collage elements, papier collé and a large variety of subject matter. It was the beginning of collage materials being introduced as an important ingredient of fine art work by the avant-garde. Considered the first work of
Georges Braque throughout Paris and then Europe. The two artists' productive collaboration continued and they worked closely together until the beginning of World War I in 1914, when Braque enlisted with the French Army. In May 1915, Braque received a severe head injury in battle at Carency and suffered temporary blindness. He was trepanned, and required a long period of recuperation. Braque resumed painting in late 1916. Working alone, he began to moderate the harsh abstraction of cubism. He developed a more personal style characterized by brilliant color, textured surfaces, and—after his relocation to the Normandy seacoast—the reappearance of the human figure.