Book, Pipe, and Glasses

Juan Gris Spanish

Not on view

Gris delighted in specious representations—forms that transubstantiate, multiply, or appear and disappear. In this dazzling still life, he focused on an impeccably foreshortened volume illuminated by white light. Amid the hide-and-seek outlines of spectral objects—a coffee pot and grinder, a sugar bowl, cups, and a pipe—the book appears real enough, yet it frustrates the reader with a text composed of strikethrough lines. Gris turned the facing page into a mirror, all glassy sheen, though further scrutiny reveals that it reflects a different page.

Book, Pipe, and Glasses, Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine), Oil on canvas

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