The ostensible subject of this still life is a café. The letters “NAL,” shown on a diagonal at right, are part of the French word “journal” (newspaper); at left is a placard indicating the “MEN[U DU] JOU[R]” (today’s menu). With its abrupt spatial shifts and juxtaposed rectangular forms, this work is a striking example of the immediate impact that Braque’s collages had on the aesthetic of his paintings. The inclusion in so many Cubist artworks of the letters “JOU” (from “jouer,” to play) is a hint at the game of representation that lies at the core of Cubism.
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Inscription: Signed (verso, upper right, in black paint): G. Braque
[Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris, before June 1913; probably inv. no. 1350, photo no. 1102]; Earl Horter, Philadelphia (in 1929/30–1936; on extended loan to the Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, February 11, 1935–February 1936; sold on June 25, 1936 to Keim); Elizabeth Lentz Keim (as of April 22, 1938, Elizabeth Lentz Horter), South Langhorne (present-day Penndel), Pennsylvania (from 1936); [Justin K. Thannhauser, New York; photo no. 6399; probably his sale, Sotheby & Co., London, July 5, 1962, no. 247, as "Nature morte—verre et journaux," sold to Arthur Kauffmann, probably for Galerie Nathan]; [Galerie Nathan, Zürich, in 1963–66; sold in March 1966 to Pavel]; Dr. Horst Pavel, Bad Homburg, Germany (from 1966); private collection, France (until 1999; sold in July 1999 to Lauder); Leonard A. Lauder, New York (1999–2025; his gift to MMA)
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Museum of Art. "Earl Horter Collection," February 17–March 14, 1934 [no. undetermined].
Arts Club of Chicago. "Modern Paintings from the Collection of Mr. Earl Horter of Philadelphia," April 3–26, 1934.
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. "The Art of the African Negro with Related Modern Paintings," April 1936.
Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Museum of Art. May 14–June 25, 1936.
Munich. Haus der Kunst. "Georges Braque," October 18–December 15, 1963, no. 43 (as "Glass und Zeitung").
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection," October 20, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 12.
George Isarlov. Georges Braque. Paris, 1932, p. 18, no. 159, as "Bouteille et verre".
Modern Paintings from the Collection of Mr. Earl Horter of Philadelphia. Exh. cat., Arts Club of Chicago. Chicago, 1934, unpaginated (number undetermined).
Douglas Cooper. Georges Braque. Exh. cat., Haus der Kunst. Munich, 1963, p. 40, no. 43, fig. 39.
François Mathey. Il Cubismo. Parte seconda. Milan, 1967, p. 421, ill. p. 135, as "Bicchiere e giornale".
Edwin Mullins. The Art of Georges Braque. New York, [1968], pp. 181, 210, ill. no. 55, as "Bottle and Glass".
Marco Valsecchi and Massimo Carrà. L'opera completa di Braque dalla scomposizione cubista al recupero dell'oggetto, 1908–1929. Milan, 1971, p. 90, no. 103, ill. p. 91, as "Bicchiere e giornale".
Dr. Fritz Nathan und Dr. Peter Nathan, 1922–1972. Zürich, 1972, unpaginated, no. 120, ill., as "Nature morte—verre et journaux".
Pierre Descargues and Massimo Carrà. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Braque, 1908–1929. Paris, 1973, p. 92, no. 103, ill. p. 91, as "Bouteille et verre".
Nicole Worms de Romilly and Jean Laude. [Catalogue de l'œuvre de Georges Braque]. Vol. [1], Le Cubisme, fin 1907–1914. [Paris], 1982, p. 281, no. 179, ill. p. 198 (erroneously as in the collection of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York), as "Bouteille et verre/Bottle and Glass".
Innis Howe Shoemaker, with Christa Clarke, and William Wierzbowski. Mad for Modernism: Earl Horter and His Collection. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1999, ill. p. 11, fig. 1 (on display in Earl Horter’s residence, Philadelphia, ca. 1929–30), pl. 9, as "Bottle and Glass".
"Objects Promised to the Museum during the Year 2012–2013." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, One Hundred Forty-third Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013 (2013), p. 45, as "Bottle and Glass (Bouteille et verre)".
Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, p. 236.
Jack Flam inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 144–46, no. 12, ill. p. 145 (color).
Anna Jozefacka and Luise Mahler inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 252–53, fig. 12 (on display in Earl Horter's residence, Philadelphia, ca. 1929–30).
"The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection: A Conversation with Emily Braun and Pepe Karmel." IFAR Journal 16, no. 3 (2015), fig. 2 (color, on display in the living room of the Lauder residence, New York, 2014).
Max Hollein. Modern and Contemporary Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2019, ill. p. 24 (color).
Leonard A. Lauder discusses his appreciation of the Cubist works of art he has collected. Leonard A. Lauder answers the question: "Which is your favorite picture?"
Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
1947–60
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