Glass and Newspaper 1917

Juan Gris made this painting with oil on canvas, deconstructing a simple still life into a series of geometric shapes. The dominant palette is subdued, with ochre yellows, blacks, and greys. Look at how the painting emerges from its component parts! Imagine Gris wrestling with the composition, shifting planes, and finding a surprising harmony in the chaos. It’s like he’s saying, “Hey, reality is just a bunch of angles and edges, and it's up to us to make sense of it all.” The pipe is my favourite bit, a curving grey form that seems to defy gravity. I can see the artist's hand as he paints that line, figuring out the curve, and the tone. This dude's work reminds me of Braque and Picasso; like, they are having a conversation, always innovating! When we look at a painting, we are not just seeing an image; we are participating in a dialogue that spans decades. Each mark, each colour, is a response to what came before and an invitation to what might come next.