La Dernière Nuit 

Juan Gris made "La Dernière Nuit" using pencil and white gouache on paper. The artist meticulously applied the pencil, creating subtle gradations in tone that emphasize the texture of the scene. The inherent qualities of these materials—the weight of the pencil marks, the smoothness of the gouache—infuse the artwork with a sense of intimacy, drawing us into the private sphere of the bedroom. Gris chose to use pencil and gouache rather than more traditional art materials, nodding to the aesthetics of commercial illustration. The application of white gouache adds depth and luminosity, highlighting the texture of the bedding and the soft glow of the light, a moment suspended in time and rendered with the utmost sensitivity. By emphasizing the work's materiality and the techniques employed, Gris elevates the everyday, challenging conventional divisions between the fine arts and more accessible modes of visual expression.