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Still Life with a Guitar

Juan Gris Spanish
1913
Not on view
Though sinister cast shadows were no novelty, Gris’s ingeniously detached silhouettes stand for the things themselves, as with the wineglass, pipe, and bottle in this garishly colored scene. Unlike full-bodied objects, these apparitions are flat and insubstantial, eluding our grasp. Meanwhile, the shadow dutifully attached to the guitar does not obey the laws of nature but changes in shape and direction, like a rogue twin. Gris’s mock deviousness was inspired by the murky criminal underworld of the pulp-fiction series Fantômas and its film versions (1913–14), which enthralled the Parisian avant-garde; the titular character often perpetrated his dastardly deeds like a stealth silhouette, clothed all in black.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Still Life with a Guitar
  • Artist: Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine)
  • Date: 1913
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 26 × 39 1/2 in. (66 × 100.3 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, 1998
  • Object Number: 1999.363.28
  • 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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