Cubism, perhaps the seminal art movement of the twentieth century, is also one of the most complex. It was the product of the decade before the outbreak of war in 1914. France, during this period, was torn by intercity class and international tensions, caught between excitement over the experience of modernity and anxiety about its consequences. Analyzing paintings by Picasso, Braque, Robert and Sonia Delaunay and their associates, David Cottington describes how the artistic avant-garde, and Cubism within it, were formed by that turbulent and complex moment.