Glasses, Teacup, Bottle, and Pipe on a Table
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The wood table, crockery, and glassware imply an ordinary kitchen, while the varnished tile-patterned wallpaper stands in for an oilcloth table cover. Two sensational murders are reported on the front page of the newspaper, generating an ominous atmosphere that is reinforced by the stark tonal contrasts. The meticulous hand-drawn reproduction of parallelepiped, a brainteasing pattern that goes back to antiquity, contributes to the visual drama. Gris also highlighted the newspaper’s contrasting photos of a Parisian monument, showing it first disguised by the handbills pasted over it, then in a cleaned-up and (as the caption states) “less picturesque” state. A covert allusion to collage was likely intended.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glasses, Teacup, Bottle, and Pipe on a Table
- Artist: Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine)
- Date: 1914
- Medium: Cut-and-pasted printed wallpapers, newspaper, laid paper, oil, gouache and crayon on canvas
- Dimensions: 25 9/16 × 36 1/4 in. (65 × 92 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf
- Rights and Reproduction:
bpk Bildagentur / Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen /Photo: Walter Klein / Art Resource, NY
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art