Pierrot 1922

Juan Gris made this painting of Pierrot, whose date is unknown, with oil on canvas. I love the earthiness of Gris's palette here. The umbers and ochres feel so grounded, and the painting’s about the construction of a figure through flat planes of colour. It's all about process. The way Gris builds up this Pierrot feels almost architectural, like constructing a building block by block. Look at the way he renders the Pierrot’s lute. It’s not about illusion; it’s about the solid presence of each element. The colours aren't blended, they sit side by side to create a sense of depth. There’s a real beauty in the way the painting embraces ambiguity, offering multiple ways of seeing at once. Gris’s contemporary, Picasso, comes to mind. The two artists were both based in France and explored similar subject matter. For me, this piece is an ongoing conversation, where ideas are exchanged and transformed across time.