The artwork entitled “Still Life with Goblet” is the creation of the artist Juan Gris, who made significant contributions to the Cubist movement. As an exemplar of Cubism, the piece belongs to the genre of sketches and studies. While the current location of this artwork is unknown, its stylistic features mark a notable point in the development of Cubist techniques and concepts.
The artwork exhibits a monochromatic palette inherent to many sketches, emphasizing form over color. It features geometric shapes and objects that are deconstructed and reassembled, typical of Cubist art, challenging traditional perspectives. A goblet, or a comparable vessel, is prominently visible, accompanied by other objects that appear to include a cylindrical form that may represent a container or a vase. The objects are not rendered realistically but are instead depicted through the fragmentation and reconstitution of their parts—a technique commonly used by Cubists to depict multiple viewpoints and to convey the essence of the shapes rather than their realistic appearance. The use of hatching and cross-hatching to create depth and texture further contributes to the artwork’s dynamic composition. The lines and shading demonstrate Gris’s meticulous approach to form and light, which both complements and advances the Cubist agenda of representing the three-dimensionality of space on a two-dimensional plane.
