Braque worked in tandem with Pablo Picasso from 1907 until the start of World War I to develop Cubism, revolutionizing the depiction of forms in space by transforming objects through fragmentation, abstraction, and multiple perspectives. This canvas, one of five still-lifes dedicated to a musical theme that Braque made between late 1909 and early 1910, radically extends the artist’s Cubist experiments.
Today, the painting’s title specifically identifies the metronome (a musical device used to set tempo as an aid for musical practice) yet it only acquired this designation about thirty years after the work was made. Braque’s first dealer, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, called the composition Still Life with Mandolin, although the instrument represented in the center of the composition is the mandolin’s larger cousin, the mandola. Braque himself was a classically trained musician who was, by his own account, surrounded by musical instruments in his studio. Dozens of these populate the artist’s Cubist still-life paintings.
Still Life with Metronome dates to the early phase of Cubism’s development, often referred to as Analytic Cubism. Paintings from this period feature subject matter broken down into rudimentary shapes and overlapping planes rendered in a simplified palette of neutral colors. The trapezoidal metronome at upper left, positioned off-center, conveys depth and perspective, while the mandola emerges from a pile of dissolved forms. These instruments would have been familiar to European audiences at a time when music-making was a popular leisure activity; Braque’s decision to represent them in his canvas would have made Cubism’s pictorial innovations more legible.
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Inscription: Signed (verso) [now concealed by relining]
[Galerie Kahnweiler, Paris, in 1914, inv. no. 467, photo no. 1026; as 1910; sequestered Kahnweiler stock, December 12, 1914–21; first Kahnweiler sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 13, 1921, no.13, as "La mandoline," sold for Fr 1,600, to Miestchaninoff]; Oscar Miestchaninoff (from 1921); André Breton, Paris; René Gaffé, Brussels; sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, October 20, 1926, no. 5; as "Nature morte, Mandoline," sold for Fr 13,000, to Manteau; Louis Manteau, Brussels (from 1926); Edouart Léon Théodore Mesens, Brussels; Douglas Cooper, London (1936–d. 1984; estate no. DC 39/38; his bequest to McCarty-Cooper); his partner and adopted son, William McCarty-Cooper, London (1984–86; sold in November 1986 to Lauder); Leonard A. Lauder, New York (from 1986)
Birmingham, England. City Art Museum. "L’art français moderne (Modern French Art)," October–November 1947 [probably this picture].
Newcastle upon Tyne. Hatton Gallery, King's College in the University of Durham. "Paintings of the Twentieth Century from the Collection of Mr. Douglas Cooper," March–May 1949, no catalogue (checklist no. 1; as "Mandoline and Books," 1910).
Venice. Biennale. "XXV Biennale di Venezia," June 8–October 15, 1950, no. 6 (shown in Sala V, "Quattro maestri del Cubismo"; as "Il metronomo").
Munich. Haus der Kunst. "Georges Braque," October 18–December 15, 1963, no. 26 (as "Nature morte avec une guitare et un métronome," 1910).
Paris. Galerie Berggruen. "Œuvres cubistes: Braque, Gris, Léger, Picasso," May 1973, no. 6 (as "Nature morte avec une guitare et un métronome," 1910).
London. Tate Gallery. "The Essential Cubism, 1907–1920: Braque, Picasso & their friends," April 27–July 10, 1983, extended to July 31, 1983, no. 10 (as winter 1909–10).
New York. Museum of Modern Art. "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism," September 24, 1989–January 16, 1990, unnumbered cat. (p. 145; as autumn 1909).
Kunstmuseum Basel. "Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism," February 25–June 4, 1990, unnumbered cat. (fig. 96).
Berlin. Martin-Gropius-Bau. "The Age of Modernism: Art in the 20th Century," May 7–July 27, 1997, no. 9.
New York. Acquavella Galleries. "Georges Braque: Pioneer of Modernism," October 12–November 30, 2011, no. 11.
Paris. Grand Palais. "Georges Braque," September 18, 2013–January 6, 2014, no. 43.
Houston. Museum of Fine Arts. "Georges Braque: A Retrospective," February 13–May 11, 2014, no. 43.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection," October 20, 2014–February 16, 2015, no. 5.
Eliane Escoubas in "L’Epoché Pittorica: Picasso e Braque." Pittura e idea: ricerche fenomenologiche sul cubismo. Florence, p. 136.
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Der Weg zum Kubismus. Munich, 1920, unpaginated (list of plates), fig. 20, as "Stilleben mit Mandoline".
"Échos de l’Hôtel Drouot. Liste complète des prix atteints aux ventes Uhde et Kahnweiler: Vente Kahnweiler, 13 et 14 June 1921." L’Esprit Nouveau: Revue internationale illustré de l’actualité contemporaine no. 13 (1921), p. 1566, as "La Mandoline".
George Isarlov. Georges Braque. Paris, 1932, p. 16, no. 68, as "Le miroir," 1910.
Louis Vauxcelles. "Georges Braque." Cahiers d'art 8 (1933), pp. 14–15, ill., as 1910.
Christian Zervos. Histoire de l'art contemporain. Paris, 1938, ill. p. 225, as "Mandoline et métronome," 1910.
Douglas Cooper inXXV Biennale di Venezia: Catalogo. Exh. cat., Biennale. Venice, 1950, p. 53, no. 6.
Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Les Années héroïques du Cubisme. Paris, 1950, ill. no. 35, as "Nature morte au miroir," 1910.
John Richardson. "Au Château des cubistes." L'Oeil no. 4 (April 15, 1955), p. 21, ill. p. 20 (on display in Douglas Cooper’s Château de Castille, Argilliers, France), as "Mandoline et livres," 1910.
Maurice Gieure. G. Braque. Paris, 1956, p. 98, pl. 28 (French ed., p. 114, pl. 28), as 1910.
Douglas Cooper. Georges Braque. Exh. cat., Haus der Kunst. Munich, 1963, p. 36, no. 26, fig. 24,
.
Marco Valsecchi and Massimo Carrà. L'opera completa di Braque dalla scomposizione cubista al recupero dell'oggetto, 1908–1929. Milan, 1971, p. 88, no. 50, ill., as "Mandolino e metronomo," 1910.
Francis Ponge, Pierre Descargues, and André Malraux. G. Braque. New York, 1971, p. 104, ill., as "Still Life with Guitar and Metronome," 1910.
Pierre Descargues and Massimo Carrà. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Braque, 1908–1929. Paris, 1973, p. 88, no. 50, ill., as "Guitare et métronome," 1910.
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. 56, no. 120.
Nicole Worms de Romilly and Jean Laude. [Catalogue de l'œuvre de Georges Braque]. Vol. [1], Le Cubisme, fin 1907–1914. [Paris], 1982, p. 266, no. 58, ill. p. 112, as "Le miroir/The Mirror," 1909–10.
Douglas Cooper and Gary Tinterow. The Essential Cubism: Braque, Picasso & their friends, 1907–1920. Exh. cat., Tate Gallery. London, 1983, p. 54, no. 10, ill. p. 55.
Dorothy M. Kosinski. Douglas Cooper and the Masters of Cubism. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Basel. Basel, 1987, ill. p. 17 (on display in Douglas Cooper's Château de Castille, Argilliers, France, ca. 1955), as 1909–10.
Serge Fauchereau. Braque. New York, 1987, pp. 14, 126, no. 25, ill. (color), dates it 1910.
Linda S. Boersma inKazimir Malevich, 1878–1935. Exh. cat., Russian Museum, Leningrad. Amsterdam, 1988, pp. 212–14, ill. (reproduction in "Chart No. 8: The Structure of Paint and the Structure of Color" by Kazimir Malevich).
Kazimir Malevich, 1878–1935. Exh. cat., Russian Museum, Leningrad. Amsterdam, 1988, pp. 268, 274, under no. 202.
William Rubin, ed. Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1989, ill. p. 145, (German ed., 1990, p. 329, revised dating as [late 1909], fig. 96; French ed., 1990, and Spanish ed., 1991, p. 328, revised dating as [late 1909], ill. p. 139).
Judith Cousins inPicasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism. Ed. William Rubin. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1989, p. 364 (German ed., 1990, p. 353; French ed., 1990, and Spanish ed., 1991, p. 352), (French ed., as "Le miroir").
Pepe Karmel. "Appendix 2: Notes on the Dating of Works." Picasso and Braque: A Symposium. Ed. Lynn Zelevansky. New York, 1992, p. 327.
Christopher Green. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. The European Avant-Gardes: Art in France and Western Europe, 1904–c 1945. Ed. Irene Martin. London, 1995, pp. 62–63, fig. 3.
The Age of Modernism: Art in the 20th Century. Exh. cat., Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin. Ostfildern-Ruit, 1997, unpaginated, no. 9, ill.
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine inCézanne, Picasso, Braque: Der Beginn des kubistischen Stillebens. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Basel. Ostfildern-Ruit, 1998, p. 106, fig. 7, as "Mandoline und Metronom".
Martin Faass. Lyonel Feininger und der Kubismus. Frankfurt am Main, 1999, pp. 28–29, 101, fig. 7.
Claude Frontisi inGeorges Braque et le paysage: De l'Estaque à Varengeville, 1906–1963. Exh. cat., Musée Cantini, Marseille. Paris, 2006, pp. 86–87, fig. 69, as 1909–10.
Bernice B. Rose, ed. Picasso, Braque, and Early Film in Cubism. Exh. cat., PaceWildenstein. New York, 2007, ill. p. 56 (color).
Harry Cooper inPicasso and Braque: The Cubist Experiment 1910–1912. Exh. cat., Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. Santa Barbara, 2011, pp. 54–55.
Georges Braque: Pioneer of Modernism. Exh. cat., Acquavella Galleries. New York, 2011, p. 94, pl. 11, as 1909–10.
Brigitte Leal inGeorges Braque, 1882–1963. Ed. Brigitte Leal, Gary Tinterow, and Alison de Lima Greene. Exh. cat., Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. Paris, 2013, p. 46.
Pierre Daix. Braque avec Picasso: L'album de l'exposition. Exh. cat., Grand Palais. Paris, 2013, p. 30, fig. 13.
Brigitte Leal, Gary Tinterow, and Alison de Lima Greene, ed. Georges Braque, 1882–1963. Exh. cat., Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. Paris, 2013, pp. 54, 308, no. 43, ill. p. 55.
"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.
Braque: L’expo. Exh. cat., Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. Paris, 2013, p. 60, ill. p. 61.
Linda S. Boersma inKazimir Malevich and the Russian Avant-Garde, Featuring Selections from the Khardzhiev and Costakis Collections. Exh. cat., Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Cologne, 2013, ill. p. 156 (reproduction in "Chart No. 8: The Structure of Paint and the Structure of Color" by Kazimir Malevich).
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, p. 61.
Lewis Kachur inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 78–81, 306(4)nn.14, 15, no. 5, ill. p. 80 (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, p. 245, fig. 5 (reproduction in "Chart No. 8: The Structure of Paint and the Structure of Color" by Kazimir Malevich).
Emily Braun and Leonard A. Lauder inCubism: The Leonard A. Lauder Collection. Ed. Emily Braun and Rebecca Rabinow. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2014, pp. 10–11.
"The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection: A Conversation with Emily Braun and Pepe Karmel." IFAR Journal 16, no. 3 (2015), pp. 41–42, fig. 15B (color).
Linda Goddard. "Cubism and Silence." The Cubism Seminars. Ed. Harry Cooper. Washington, D.C., 2017, pp. 81–82, fig. 1 (color).
Brigitte Leal. "Broc et violon." Dictionnaire du Cubisme. Ed. Brigitte Leal. Paris, 2018, p. 109.
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