The Bottle of Anis
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The word-and-image play in this amusing collage asserts Gris’s position as part of an elite Cubist trio, the “DESTILLACION ESPECIAL” (special distillation) as per the claim on the label from a popular alcoholic drink. The enjoyment to be had is as much about amis (friends) as anis, the licorice-flavored spirit. The logo includes its place of manufacture, Badalona, a suburb of Barcelona, and two prize-winning medallions from Paris and Madrid; these were emblematic cities for Picasso, Braque, and Gris, respectively. The lattice pattern on the “tipsy” bottle mimics the original’s pressed glass design, itself a mass-produced imitation of real cut glass.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Bottle of Anis
- Artist: Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine)
- Date: 1914
- Medium: Cut-and-pasted printed wallpapers, newspaper, printed commercial label, gouache, conté crayon, and graphite on newspaper mounted on canvas
- Dimensions: 16 7/16 × 9 7/16 in. (41.8 × 24 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
- Rights and Reproduction: Photographic Archives Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art