The dual title gives meaning and purpose to this book, the only critical work published by Apollinaire while he was alive. "The Cubist Painters" was, in 1913, a combative work, a generous defense of the poet's young friends, a challenge to the Parisian public - in the context of the battle that was about to literally shake the art of the twentieth century.

The subtitle "Aesthetic Reflections," on the other hand, hints at a collection of thoughts, matured after years of searching, from a spiritual person trying to place this revolution, of which he was one of the leaders, within a broader perspective. At that time, the first title particularly piqued public interest, and it is easy to understand why the publisher Eugene Figuiere printed it in large letters, clearly against the author's will.

Today, this book, like a manifesto or a manual of cubism, holds rather historical value. [...] On the other hand, if we accept today the title of "reflections" - not the reflections of a philosopher, of course, because Apollinaire was not a philosopher at all, even if he had some leanings in that direction - but the reflections of a poet and indeed one of the great poets of the twentieth century, we would be astonished by the accuracy of so many prophetic assessments and the beauty of the metaphorical expression with which the author enriches the fundamental principles of the art of our time.

(From the book's introduction)