Compotier et nappe à carreaux 1917

Juan Gris made this painting of a fruit bowl and checkered tablecloth with oil on canvas. He’s got this very particular way of building up forms from little facets, almost like he’s constructing a sculpture from cardboard. Look at how he uses color. It’s a limited palette, mostly browns, grays, and off-whites, but within that, there's so much variation. It's not just about depicting objects; it's about the act of painting itself. The surface is alive with these little touches and adjustments. The checkered pattern of the tablecloth, for example, is not just a pattern; it's a series of individual marks, each one slightly different from the last. I love how the fruit at the top bleeds into the ground - a little like Cezanne. Gris is part of a larger conversation about representation in art. Like Picasso and Braque, he's pushing the boundaries of what a painting can be. It's an ongoing experiment. No fixed meanings, just a lot of possibilities.