Currently on display through February 16, 2015 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art is The Leonard A. Lauder Collection: Braque, Gris, Leger, Picasso.
I was captivated by the work of Juan Gris,1887-1927and wanted to share a bit about the artist, a spanish painter and sculptor born in Madrid and who lived and worked in France most of his life.
In 1906 he moved to Paris and became friends with Henri Matisse, Georges Braque and Fernand Leger. While in Paris, he befriended Picasso. At first, Gris painted in the style of Analytic Cubism, a term he coined. After 1913 he converted to Synthetic Cubism and the use of collage. Given the other names associated with Cubism, I've paid less attention to Gris. Its stated that although he regarded Picasso as a teacher, Gertrude Stein acknowledged that Gris "was the one person that Picasso would have willingly wiped off the map."
Here, at the MET, his work hung in its own room which allowed me the space to appreciate it. I discovered his use of bright colors and lively compositions that are familiar in Matisses works, as well as his strength in drawing and design.
SLXLM
Do you see the bulls head created by line and fragments of the visible wine label lettering which may represent "taurEAU" (bull)
Still Life with Checked Tablecloth, Spring 1915
February 2014: Painting sells for $56.8 million at Christie's International in London
