Tabac, Journal Et Bouteille De Vin Rosé 1914

Juan Gris made this Cubist still life, Tabac, Journal Et Bouteille De Vin Rosé, using oil paint and pasted paper. I can imagine him piecing it together, bit by bit. The muted browns, blacks, and greens create a somber mood, but the textures of the pasted paper add a tactile dimension. The shapes are fractured, and the newspaper adds fragments of information and reality. It makes me wonder, what was Gris thinking when he chose those scraps? Was he interested in the news of the day, or did he like the font? I bet he was thinking about Picasso's collages. The way Gris combines painting and collage opens up so many possibilities. It's like he's saying, "Why limit myself to one way of seeing?" And that’s what keeps painting alive—artists are constantly riffing off each other, pushing the boundaries, and keeping the conversation going. There's no one right way to make a painting, and that's what makes it so exciting.