The Three Masks 1923

Juan Gris painted “The Three Masks” with oils on canvas, and whatever year it was, the whole art world was buzzing about Cubism. Gris worked through a process of color shifts between blues and yellows, and there’s a real sense of transparency, like light trying to get in. Look at how the faces are structured from geometric planes, especially the figure in the center. It reminds me of Cézanne, but also something really modern, like a glitch in a computer program. The paint is applied in thin, washy layers, allowing the canvas to breathe. It’s easy to see the shapes and lines, almost like a blueprint, which gives the artwork this feeling of being constructed rather than observed. See the curls of blue above the figures’ heads, floating like smoke or a dream? It's as though the three figures are actors in a play. Think about Picasso and Braque, who were also bending reality with their Cubist inventions. "The Three Masks" isn't just a painting; it's an invitation to see the world, or at least three faces, in a totally new way.