Guitar and Sheet Music (1919; France) by Georges Braque

Guitar and Sheet Music - Georges Braque - 1919; France

Artwork Information

TitleGuitar and Sheet Music
ArtistGeorges Braque
Date1919; France
Mediumoil,canvas
Dimensions93 x 72 cm
Art MovementSynthetic Cubism
Current LocationPrivate Collection

About Guitar and Sheet Music

The artwork “Guitar and Sheet Music” is an oil on canvas painting created by the French artist Georges Braque in 1919. It is a quintessential example of Synthetic Cubism, an art movement in which Braque played a pivotal role. Measuring 93 by 72 centimeters, it depicts a still life arrangement and belongs to a private collection. The composition evokes the subject through a series of overlapping and intersecting shapes and muted colors that have been reconstructed to suggest the objects in a flattened representation.

The artwork presents an intriguing fusion of geometric figures and muted tones that abstract the forms of a guitar and various pieces of sheet music. These elements are depicted in a fragmented manner, typical of Synthetic Cubism, which sought to synthesize different perspectives into a single plane. The guitar, as the centerpiece, is discernible through its curvilinear form and dark central sound hole flanked by frets and strings, all of which are stylistically simplified and flattened. The scattered sheets of music are composed of paper-like textures and show musical notations that have been rendered almost symbolically.

Braque’s approach to Synthetic Cubism is evident in the way he reconstructs everyday objects, using simplified shapes and playing with the conventional notions of perspective and depth. Despite the collage-like appearance of the painting, it achieves a sense of harmony and balance. The artist’s subtle use of shadow and tone imbues the work with a sense of spatial relevance, anchoring the abstract forms within a coherent, albeit non-naturalistic, space. This particular work reflects the artist’s continued exploration of the medium and genre during a pivotal time in art history when traditional representational art was undergoing a significant transformation.

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