The artwork “Glass, Pipe and Newspaper” was crafted by Georges Braque in 1917, during his time in France, exemplifying the Synthetic Cubism movement. This still life painting is rendered in oil on canvas, measuring 55 x 43 cm. As with many works of Synthetic Cubism, it is characterized by simpler shapes and brighter colors compared to its Analytic predecessor. Currently, the piece is held in a private collection.
The artwork depicts an assortment of objects that would typically be found in a domestic setting. These items are represented using fragmented geometric shapes and a limited color palette, which is distinctive of Cubism, where objects are broken down and reassembled in an abstracted form. The composition appears to include a glass, a pipe, and pieces of a newspaper, as the title suggests. The newspaper’s lettering is one of the few elements that provide a direct link to the real world, a common technique in Cubism to ground the abstraction in reality. The utilization of overlapping planes and shifting perspectives is evident, creating an ambiguous sense of space and depth, challenging the viewer’s perception and encouraging them to engage with the artwork from multiple viewpoints.