In 1899 Braque began an apprenticeship as decorative painter in Le Havre, which he continued in Paris in 1900. After one year's military service, the artist enrolled at the 'Académie Humbert' in 1902. In 1903 Braque transfered to the 'École des Beaux Arts for a short time, but returned to 'Académie Humbert' that very same year. In 1904 the artist got himself a studio and began to paint independently. In 1905 Braque was so impressed by the works of Matisse and Derain shown at the 'Salon d'Automne', that he integrated their Fauvist style in his painting. His studies of the Fauves, Braque's first encounter with Picasso in 1907 and the discovery of the works of Cézanne, which were very important for the generation of young painters, were the decisive factors, which ultimately lead Braque to his first formanalytical attempts. Together, Braque and Picasso developed Cubism, whose classic period until 1914 is divided into an analytical and a synthetic phase. The analysis and breakdown of an object into its basic forms was their program, in which the reference to reality stepped back increasingly and in which the subject was ultimately almost entirely dissolved into color and form structures. Braque and Picasso parted company at the beginning of World War I. Braque was drafted and after a serious injury in 1917 returned to Paris, where he spent the rest of his life, except for his summer stays in Varengeville. While Braque's earliest post-war pictures could still be assigned to synthetic Cubism, he tended toward a more pictoral and realistic style of painting from 1920. The period in which pure color and the commitment to a complex space and its pictorial realisation dominated, came to an end with the four 'Grands Guèridons', executed from 1928. World War II prompted the artist to produce more down-to-earth works, which were more appropriate for the gravity of the situation. From 1947 Braque was often forced into inactivity due to ill health. In the years between 1949 and 1956 he realised the 'Ateliers' series including eight oil paintings and particularly dealt with the subject of birds. On August 31, 1963, the artist died in his Paris apartment. Braque is one of the most important Modern artists and left an impressive oeuvre, which can be admired in important museums and collections.