Braques' background as a housepainter allowed him the technical ability to simulate the grains of wood and marble.  Around 1911, Braques began experimenting with imitation textures and letters in his still-lifes.   In 1912, Braques and Picasso began to experiment with collage in their work; pasting strips of paper, bus tickets, newspaper, and playing cards to their canvasses, incorporating textures from the real world into their abstractions.

Picasso was also influenced by the simplified style of African masks and sculpture. He was drawn to their strong, precise contours and exaggerated forms derived from nature, that were reduced into interlocking geometric forms. This led him to show things as they really existed in space, from many constantly changing viewpoints.

George Braques originally planned to become a house painter.  Later, he traveled to Paris to study painting as a fine art.

While very impressed with artists like Matisse and Derain, it was the work of Paul Cézanne that influenced his cubist style.

In 1909, Braques began to work closely with Picasso.  They used neutral color to render complex faceted forms.  Collage became a new way to experiment with color and pattern.

After enlisting in the French army, and being severely wounded in WWI, he returned to his art alone.

By the time he was 16 years old, Picasso showed such promise as a painter that he was sent to The Royal Academy of Madrid.  Bored with copying the old, masters, he struck out on his own and went to Paris.

He lived in virtual poverty as he continued to paint.  After viewing some examples of African masks and sculpture, his own work became more simplified.  This simplification led him to a new style called Cubism.

Besides painting, Picasso sculpted, designed sets, and worked in ceramics.

While he sold little work in his early years, he later became very successful later in life.  To many, he is considered to be the most talented and most successful artist that ever lived.