For about eight months in 1914, Gris devoted himself almost exclusively to the hybrid medium of papier collé, creating over forty compositions that mix drawing materials and everyday papers with paint on canvas. The Met has a number of these works in its holdings, including this one from the landmark gift of the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection. If the newspaper elements used in the works are a key to his production, Gris likely made them in the spring, before he left Paris for the summer in Collioure. Together, they offer an extraordinary window into the Cubist invention of papier collé as well as Gris’s great skill and wit. Gris’s papiers collés of 1914 have been lauded by Cubist scholar John Golding, who wrote that they "represent the climax of Gris’s exploration of the intellectual possibilities of Cubism and of the new techniques it has introduced."
Papier collé, a method of adhering diverse paper elements in a composition to upend the tradition of painted representation, was a Cubist technique invented in 1912 by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Initially, Gris only made occasional use of papier collé, but it was he who first exhibited a papier collé composition (The Washstand, 1912, private collection), at the 1912 Section d’Or exhibition at the Galerie la Boétie, Paris, where he received great critical attention for the "curious originality of [his] imagination."
Unlike those of Braque and Picasso, whose papiers collés are typically spare and resistant to reading, Gris’s works are closer to paintings, their entire surfaces covered with paper and paint. He carefully planned his compositions, building them with cut, matched, and layered pieces of paper—some plain, some pages of journals, some wallpapers with imitation surfaces—and then outlined, shaded, and highlighted forms, bringing all the elements into synthetic wholes. Often, such works also draw upon the tradition of trompe l’oeil ("deceive the eye") painting. They question the nature of representation through perceptual and psychological games that complicate truth and fiction. Attentive to the iconic properties of his materials, Gris delighted in such visual puns. His papier collé compositions—with their unique opportunity for pictorial rhyming, optical trickery, and potential misreading—bear witness to his artistic humor.
This collage represents a still life set atop a wooden table with a striped napkin, stemmed glasses, a corked bottle, coffee cups with spoons, and a newspaper (Le Journal). To the right of the bottle is a hand-drawn tobacco pouch with a string from which hangs a carefully cut, faux bois (fake wood) toggle, and a tobacco packet. Gris emphasized the newspaper in this composition, allowing its folded form to run almost the entire width of the canvas. Its date (Sunday, May 17, 1914) is visible even though several still-life elements obscure parts of the text. The headlines and snippets of articles relate, however, a variety of events: the state visit of the king and queen of Denmark, impending trial of a woman accused of murder, and demonstration of the inventor Émile Bachelet’s electromagnetically levitated railway. A workaday image set in a workers’ bar or café, the still life bristles with the energy of the modern world.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Archival label
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Archival label
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Verso
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Cup, Glasses, and Bottle (Le Journal)
Artist:Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine)
Date:Paris, spring–summer 1914
Medium:Conté crayon, gouache, oil, cut-and-pasted newspaper, white laid paper, printed wallpaper (three types), selectively varnished; adhered overall onto a sheet of newspaper, mounted to primed canvas
Dimensions:21 5/8 × 18 1/8 in. (54.9 × 46 cm)
Classifications:Paintings, Works on Paper
Credit Line:Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2021
Accession Number:2021.395.4
Inscription: Signed (verso, upper center, in black paint): Juan Gris [underlined]
[Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris, 1914; inv. no. 2089, photo no. 5062; sequestered Kahnweiler stock, December 12, 1914–23; fourth Kahnweiler sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 7, 1923, no. 283, as "Nature morte"]; private collection; sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, November 7, 1934, no. 92, as "Nature morte: Tasses, verre et bouteille," sold for Fr 460, to an unidentified bidder; [Galerie Percier (André Level), Paris]; [Zwemmer Gallery, London, 1935–37; sold on February 15, 1937 for £45 to Sadler]; Sir Michael Ernest Sadler K.C.S.I., Oxford (1937–d. 1943; his estate, England, 1943–46; on consignment to Ernest Brown & Phillips, Ltd. (The Leicester Galleries), London, in 1946; sold by Ernest Brown & Phillips, Ltd., London on November 1, 1946, for £157.5 to Watson); Peter Watson, Esq., London (1946–d. 1956; his bequest to Fowler); Norman R. Fowler, London (1956–60; sold in March 1960 as "Composition" to Knoedler); [M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, 1960; inv. no. CA5940; sold on May 25, 1960 to Rothschild]; Herbert M. and Nannette Rothschild, Kitchawan, New York (1960–his d. 1976); Nannette Rothschild, Kitchawan, New York (1976–d. 1979); their daughter, Judith Rothschild, New York (1979–ca. 1991; sold ca. 1991 to Galerie Gmurzynska); [Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne, ca. 1991–92; sold in 1992 to private collection]; private collection, Switzerland (from 1992); the heirs, Switzerland (until 1999; their sale, Christie’s, London, June 30, 1999, no. 503, sold to Lauder); Leonard A. Lauder, New York (1999–2013; transferred on April 8, 2013 to the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Trust); The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Trust, New York (2013–21; gift to MMA)
London. Zwemmer Gallery. "École de Paris," December 14, 1935–January 25, 1936, no. 28 (as "Still Life").
Adelaide. National Art Gallery of South Australia. "Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art," August 21–September 17, 1939, no. 49 (as "Collage").
Melbourne. Town Hall. "Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art," October 16–November 1, 1939, no. 49.
Sydney. David Jones's Art Gallery. "Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art," November 20–December 16, 1939, no. 49.
London. Institute of Contemporary Arts. "Forty Years of Modern Art, 1907–1947: A Selection from British Collections," February 10–March 6, 1948, no. 29 (as "Le Journal," lent by Peter Watson, Esq.).
Pittsburgh. Carnegie Institute. "From the Collection of the Late Peter Watson," January 24–March 3, 1957.
Providence. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. "Herbert and Nannette Rothschild Collection," October 7–November 6, 1966, no. 60 (as "Le Journal").
Washington, D.C. National Gallery of Art. "Juan Gris," October 16–December 31, 1983, no. 24 (as "The Newspaper [Cup, Glasses, and Bottle]," lent by Judith Rothschild).
University Art Museum, University of California at Berkeley. "Juan Gris," February 1–April 8, 1984, no. 24.
New York. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. "Juan Gris," May 18–July 15, 1984, no. 24.
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "High and Low: Modern Art, Popular Culture," October 7, 1990–January 15, 1991, unnumbered cat. (fig. 6; as "Le Journal," lent by Judith Rothschild).
Art Institute of Chicago. "High and Low: Modern Art, Popular Culture," February 20–May 12, 1991, unnumbered cat.
Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. "Juan Gris," December 18, 1992–February 14, 1993, no. 44a (as "Die Zeitung [Tasse, Gläser und Flasche]," lent by a private collection).
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Objects of Desire: The Modern Still Life," May 25–August 26, 1997, unnumbered cat. (pl. 31; as "The Newspaper," lent by a private collection).
London. Hayward Gallery. "Objects of Desire: The Modern Still Life," October 9, 1997–January 4, 1998, unnumbered cat.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection," October 20, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 25.
Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art. Exh. cat., National Art Gallery, Adelaide. Adelaide, 1939, unpaginated, no. 49.
The Daily Telegraph Exhibition of French and British Modern Art. Exh. cat., Exhibition Gallery, David Jones. Sydney, 1939, unpaginated, no. 49.
Forty Years of Modern Art, 1907–1947: A Selection from British Collections. Exh. cat.London, 1948, unpaginated (checklist), pl. 21.
Gordon Bailey Washburn. "The Peter Watson Collection." Carnegie Magazine 31, no. 2 (February 1957), p. 49, ill., as "Collage"
.
Harriet Janis and Rudi Blesh. Collage: Personalities, Concepts, Techniques. Philadelphia, 1962, p. 286, fig. 27.
Daniel Robbins and George E. Downing. The Herbert and Nannette Rothschild Collection. Exh. cat., Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, 1966, unpaginated, no. 60, ill.
Juan Antonio Gaya-Nuño. Juan Gris. Barcelona, [1974], p. 243, no. 299, ill. p. 213, as "Botella y periódico".
Juan Antonio Gaya-Nuño. Juan Gris. Boston, 1975, p. 247, no. 299, ill. p. 217, as "Bottle and Newspaper".
Douglas Cooper with Margaret Potter. Juan Gris: Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint. Paris, 1977, vol. 1, p. 144, no. 89, ill. p. 145, as May–June 1914.
Malcolm Gee. Dealers, Critics, and Collectors of Modern Painting: Aspects of the Parisian Art Market Between 1910 and 1930. PhD diss., Courtauld Institute of Art. New York, 1981, appendix F, p. 66, no. 22.
Marianne L. Teuber inKubismus: Künstler, Themen, Werke, 1907–1920. Exh. cat., Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle. Cologne, 1982, p. 46, fig. 41, as "Blumen".
Mark Rosenthal. Juan Gris. Exh. cat., University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley. New York, 1983, pp. 53, 178, no. 24, ill. p. 55.
Kirk Varnedoe in Kirk Varnedoe and Adam Gopnik. High and Low: Modern Art, Popular Culture. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1990, p. 23, fig. 6.
Kirk Varnedoe in Kirk Varnedoe and Adam Gopnik. High & Low: Moderne Kunst und Trivialkultur. Exh. cat.Munich, 1990, pp. 17, 24, fig. 6 (color).
Nigel Vaux Halliday. More Than a Bookshop: Zwemmer's and Art in the 20th Century. London, 1991, p. 185 n. 59.
Christopher Green, with Christian Derouet, and Karin von Maur. Juan Gris. Exh. cat., Whitechapel Gallery. London, 1992, (German ed., add., no. 44a, ill.).
Margit Rowell. Objects of Desire: The Modern Still Life. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1997, pp. 48–49, 222, pl. 31.
Olivier Camu. "A Private European Collection: A Journey through Art." Christie’s Magazine 16, no. 7 (July–August 1999), p. 26, ill. p. 27, and cover.
Eileen Chanin and Steven Miller. Degenerates and Perverts: The 1939 Herald Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art. Carlton, Australia, 2005, pp. 64, 184, 265, no. 49, ill. pp. 65, 90–91 (detail), 201 (installed in the “Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art,” National Art Gallery, Adelaide, 1939 [unidentified in the caption to the illustration]).
"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. 46, as May–June 1914.
Douglas Cooper, with Margaret Potter, updated by Alan Hyman, and Elizabeth Snowden. Juan Gris: Catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre peint/ Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings. 2nd ed. (1st ed., 1977). San Francisco, 2014, vol. 1, pp. 162–63, no. 89, ill., as May–June 1914.
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, fig. 106 (verso).
Elizabeth Cowling inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 120–21, 123, 310(3)nn.22–24, (4)n.27, p. 311(1)nn.35, 39, 40, no. 25, ill. p. 119 (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. 262–63, fig. 25 (installation photo, Exh. Adelaide 1939).
"The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection: A Conversation with Emily Braun and Pepe Karmel." IFAR Journal 16, no. 3 (2015), fig. 20 (color).
Adrian Clark. "The Art Collection of Peter Watson (1908–1956)." British Art Journal 16 (Autumn 2015), pp. 104, 107 n. 74.
Newspaper fragment from front page of Le Journal, May 17, 1914
The ninth-annual Women and the Critical Eye program featuring a conversation between Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow, who discuss Leonard Lauder's criteria for collecting, including the importance of the "aesthetic wow," rarity, state of conservation, and attention to a work's curriculum vitae.
Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine)
1913
Resources for Research
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's engagement with art from 1890 to today includes the acquisition and exhibition of works in a range of media, spanning movements in modernism to contemporary practices from across the globe.
