The artwork titled “Still Life with White Tablecloth,” created by Juan Gris in 1916, exemplifies the Synthetic Cubism movement. The painting, executed in oil on canvas, measures 51 x 61 cm and falls within the still life genre. The piece belongs to a private collection and features a composition that showcases Gris’s penchant for reassembling objects in an abstract manner.
In the artwork, one can observe the fragmented representation of various objects, a hallmark of Cubist art, where perspectives are simultaneously combined in a single representation. The painting is composed of geometric shapes and planes that intersect and overlap, creating a sense of depth and three-dimensionality on the two-dimensional canvas. The color palette is largely subdued, featuring earthy tones with accents of white on the titular tablecloth, which adds contrast to the composition.
Gris’s technique involves a careful balance of shaded and light areas, adding to the illusion of space within the flat picture plane. Despite the abstract nature of the artwork, discernible elements such as a bottle and other tabletop items can be identified through the fragmented shapes and outlines. This composition reflects the artist’s exploration of form and the deconstruction of reality, which is at the core of the Synthetic Cubism movement. Overall, the artwork encapsulates Gris’s contribution to Cubism, where the representation of the external world is reenvisioned through geometric abstraction and the interplay of light, shape, and form.
