The Guitar 1916

Juan Gris made this painting of "The Guitar" with oil on canvas, and right away, I see a fascinating approach to artmaking as a process. Gris isn't just trying to copy reality; he's taking it apart and putting it back together in a new way. Look closely, and you'll notice how Gris plays with the texture, color, and surface. The paint isn't super thick, but it's not thin and washy either. There's this one little section near the bottom that's got all these tiny dots, almost like he was stippling. It’s tactile. It makes you want to reach out and touch the painting, to feel the bumps and grooves. It's like he's saying, "Hey, this is paint! This is a thing!" Gris reminds me a little of Picasso, who he knew and admired. But where Picasso is all about wild energy, Gris is more about quiet contemplation. Both invite us to see the world in a new way, to embrace ambiguity and multiple interpretations.