Delaunay, Robert (1885-1941), French painter, who was a pioneer of abstract art in the early 20th century. In 1912 he moved away from cubism—with its geometric forms and monochromatic colors—to a new style, called Orphism, which concentrated on circular forms and bright colors. His Windows series (1912) was one of the first examples of totally abstract art, an important landmark in modern art. His love of rhythm and movement led to several series of paintings based on sporting events, such as Sprinters (1924-26), and culminated in dazzling abstract works focusing purely on rhythm, such as the later Rhythms and Eternal Rhythms series.