The table-top still life was a favorite subject of both Georges Braque and his close associate Pablo Picasso. This example from 1926 demonstrates elements of Synthetic Cubism, a style pioneered by the two artists between 1912 and 1914 and characterized by the flattened appearance of objects, space depicted through overlapping panes and an emphasis on the physical materiality of paint. Here Braque added sand to his pigments to vary their appearance; the visibly gritty texture challenges the illusion of depth and reinforces the flat surface of the support. At the right-hand side, the artist achieved a wood grain effect by scratching the back of his paintbrush through the wet surface. Passages of white paint are coarsely applied as well, alluding to the fabric of the table linens they represent. Rather than attempting to achieve an illusionary effect, Braque manipulated the physical properties of his materials to call attention to the artifice of representation.
Details
- Artist Name: Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963)
- Title: Pitcher, Score, Fruits and Napkin
- Date: 1926
- Medium: Oil and sand on canvas
- Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 47 1/4 in. (36.8 x 120.0cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
- Accession Number: M.1977.15.1.P
- Copyright: © Georges Braque / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Object Information
Paul Rosenberg, Paris (for dining room of home) and New York (1940 and after), stock no. 1367, (sale, London, Christie’s, 28 June 1977, lot 57, color ill., as Cruche, Partition, Fruits et Serviette, to);
[Somerville and Simpson, Ltd., London, on behalf of];
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
Braque
- Paris, Paul Rosenberg Gallery, 1938 to
Georges Braque 1882-1963, an American Tribute: The Twenties
- New York, Perls Galleries, 1964-04-07 to 1964-05-02
[on loan]
- Dallas Museum of Art, 1977-08-11 to 1978-05-09
- , to
Reinstallation of South Wing
- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-10-07 to 1995-08-13
- Richardson, John, Georges Braque 1882-1963, an American Tribute: The Twenties, 1964, no. 21, as Pitcher, Fruit and Napkin ("La Valse")
- Mangin, N. S., Catalogue de l'oeuvre de Georges Braque, Peintures, 1924-27, 1968, p. 83
- Valsecchi, M; and M. Carra, L'Opera completa di Braque dalla compisizione cubista al recupero dell'oggetto 1908-1929, 1971, no. 311 p. 100
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 187
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1427 p. 405
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