The artwork “Bowl and Book” by the artist Juan Gris dates back to 1926-1927. This piece exemplifies the Synthetic Cubism art movement and is executed using oil on canvas. It measures 38 x 46 cm and falls within the genre of still life, as it portrays inanimate objects. Currently, the artwork is held in a private collection.
The composition of the artwork presents a table setting with flattened geometric forms and subtle overlaps. A palette of browns, oranges, black, red, white, and shades of blue are employed to fragment and reconstruct the objects. The titular bowl and book are distinguishable, yet they are presented in a fragmented manner that is characteristic of Cubism. Instead of a realistic depiction, objects are broken down into simple shapes and reassembled in an abstracted form. The book, with its clearly defined pages and markings resembling text, intersects with the boldly colored red bowl. The background is divided into blocks of color, creating a sense of depth and dimensionality.
The painting showcases Gris’s focus on the interplay between color and form and reflects his unique contribution to the Cubist movement, which favored using these elements to reconstruct reality rather than just depicting it. This artwork stands as a testament to Gris’s technique and his ability to convey objects with a sense of volume and mass within the flattened space characteristic of Synthetic Cubism.
