Essay by Dell Jensen, Associate Professor of Chemistry

In the Sketch for a Cubist Still Life, Perle Fine expresses the complexity of playing the violin. One can clearly see the scroll and neck of the instrument in the lower left and the body to right of the neck. On the right side of the sketch, strings are held by a finger and below them a hand is positioned to hold the bow that can be found in the upper left. Sheet music is clearly evident in the background.

Cubism is an early twentieth-century art form that was influenced by analytical processes occurring in science at the same time. In Analytic Cubism, the subject is broken up into component parts, analyzed, and re-assembled using a multitude of viewpoints and/or timeframes to represent the subject in a broader context. The result is an abstract image where objects intersect at seemingly random angles. The overall composition thereby loses any traditional western linear perspective sense of depth.

Science was doing much the same thing during this time, trying to tie multiple concepts together within a broader context and unifying conflicting theories. Einstein's Theories of Relativity (1905-1916) were examples of defining a broader context within physics. His theory states that the speed of light in free space is the same for all observers, regardless of motion relative to the light source. The result of this prediction led to contradictions in classical physics at velocities close to the speed of light, such as length contraction and time dilation. This reexamination of science aligned with the later development of Abstract Expressionism, which Fine interestingly pursued following this Cubist phase in her artistic development.

Although this work was constructed towards the end of the Cubism movement, Fine did a wonderful job in representing fingers rolling up and down the neck as the bow is drawn across the strings that set up the vibrations that we hear as music. It is easy to understand why Perle Fine is considered one of the leading women in Abstract Expressionism of the twentieth century.