“Landscape with Houses at Ceret” is an artwork by Juan Gris, completed in 1913. It is an oil on canvas painting that belongs to the Synthetic Cubism movement. The painting’s dimensions are 100 cm by 65 cm and it depicts a landscape genre. Presently, this piece is part of a private collection.
The artwork displays a countryside scene fragmented into geometric shapes and planes, indicative of the Synthetic Cubism style, where the composition is built up through the overlapping and assembly of various forms. Through a palette of saturated colors, Gris has deconstructed the typical elements of a landscape, such as houses and trees, and redefined them as interlocking shapes. Patterns and textures are used to suggest the different materials and surfaces within the composition, such as roof tiles and foliage. Despite the abstraction, there is an implied depth and dimensionality to the piece, demonstrating Gris’s skillful handling of space and form in his synthetic approach. The landscape elements are recognizable yet reimagined, inviting contemplation and exploration of familiar subjects through a novel visual language.
