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Violin and Sheet Music: "Petit Oiseau"

Paris, early 1913
Not on view
Braque depicted violins more than any other instrument. The violin was associated with both classical and folk music, the refined and the sentimental, a bridging of tastes that appealed to the Cubists’ own spirited dialogue with high art and popular culture. Here, a single violin is shown from multiple viewpoints, with selected details of the black tailpiece, tuning pegs, and scroll. Braque’s skill at using metal combs to create distinct wood grains was developed in his youth while training as a painter-decorator, his father’s profession. This still life is unique in Braque’s oeuvre because of its trompe l’oeil representation of sheet music.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Violin and Sheet Music: "Petit Oiseau"
  • Artist: Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
  • Date: Paris, early 1913
  • Medium: Oil and charcoal on canvas
  • Dimensions: 28 × 20 1/2 in. (71.1 × 52.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.1
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Derriere Le Miroir; 10 Ans d'Edition 1946-1956
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Still Life, Georges Braque French, Oil on canvas
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Georges Braque
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A Garden Chair, Georges Braque French, Oil on canvas
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