The friendship between Braque and Picasso began in 1907, when Braque peered into Picasso’s studio and laid eyes on Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. This moment set the groundwork for complicated years of close friendship, collaboration, and rivalry. “We were like mountain-climbers roped together,” Braque recalled. They visited each other’s studio every day, and took inspiration from Paul Cézanne and African art. Cubism—and a monochromatic palette of browns, grays, and blacks—emerged, as did the irruptive plane that defined the movement. In 1914, Braque enlisted in the army. When he returned from war, the friendship was over. “Picasso and I said things to one another that will never be said again,” Braque confessed, “that no one will be able to understand.” This exhibition places two masterworks from the 1930s, one by Braque and one by Picasso, side by side. An artistic affinity is like a love affair. Despite their falling out, the passionate experiment of their paintings binds these two artists together forever. —E.C.