Homage to J. S. Bach

1911–1912

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This is likely the first Cubist painting to include a passage of hand-painted faux bois. Here, it represents the oak paneling behind the projecting table. Fine grooves in the oil paint indicate that Braque used a decorator’s graining comb. The flat, jet-black lettering of the music paper looks as if it were stamped on the surface of the completed painting, and Braque did use ready-made stencils to execute “BACH” (which also functions as a near homophone of his name). The use of commercial stencils was condemned in decorator’s manuals on the grounds that it required no skill; as if to prove his competence, Braque executed the letters “J S” by hand. T he artist signed the work at a later date.

Artwork Details

Overview

Exhibition History

Title: Homage to J. S. Bach
Artist: Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
Date: 1911–1912
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 21 1/4 × 28 3/4 in. (54 × 73 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection, acquired through the gift of Leon D. and Debra Black, the gift of William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. J. Hall (by exchange), the Nelson A. Rockefeller Bequest Fund (by exchange), and the Richard S. Zeisler Bequest (by exchange)
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art