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Pears and Grapes on a Table

Juan Gris Spanish
Céret, autumn 1913
Not on view
The sense of movement and intrigue in this diagonally oriented painting is palpable: someone has quickly left the scene, leaving a shawl or cloak behind on the chair and a crumpled napkin and folded newspaper on the table. The blade of the black knife at far left, dangerously angled at the table’s edge, infuses the painting with menace, while the goblet at right seems to levitate upward at an angle. A fluted design on its base almost appears as the fingers of an invisible intruder. In contrast to Braque and Picasso, Gris reveled in garish colors that add narrative drama to his still lifes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pears and Grapes on a Table
  • Artist: Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine)
  • Date: Céret, autumn 1913
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 21 1/2 × 28 3/4 in. (54.6 × 73 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.2
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Costume Design for the Shepherdess, for the Ballet 'Les Tentations de la Bergère, premiered at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo, 1924, Juan Gris Spanish, Watercolor and gouache
Costume Design for the Shepherdess, for the Ballet 'Les Tentations de la Bergère, premiered at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo, 1924
Juan Gris
1923
Au Soleil du Plafond
Multiple artists/makers
1955
Seated Angel (cover design for "L'Humoriste"), Juan Gris Spanish, Opaque watercolor and ink with graphite and pen on board
Seated Angel (cover design for "L'Humoriste")
Juan Gris
1909
Violin and Playing Cards on a Table, Juan Gris Spanish, Oil on canvas
Violin and Playing Cards on a Table
Juan Gris
1913
Violin and Engraving, Juan Gris Spanish, Oil, sand, collage on canvas
Violin and Engraving
Juan Gris
1913

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