The artwork entitled “Woman with a Mandolin” was created by Georges Braque in the year 1910, during his residence in France. This piece is an oil painting on canvas and is exemplary of the Analytical Cubism movement, a genre which Braque was instrumental in developing. The artwork measures 92 by 73 centimeters and falls under the genre painting category, which depicts scenes of everyday life. The painting is currently housed within the Bavarian State Painting Collections located in Munich, Germany.
In “Woman with a Mandolin,” Braque deconstructs and reassembles the figure and the mandolin into a series of fragmented surfaces and planes. The composition, grounded in a muted palette dominated by earthy tones, showcases the characteristic muted browns, blacks, and grays associated with Analytical Cubism. Braque has carefully layered the shapes to create a sense of depth, despite the overall flattening effect of the cubist style. This complex, interlocking arrangement of forms is precisely balanced, demonstrating Braque’s masterful control of shape and light to suggest the presence of a female figure with a musical instrument without relying on traditional representation. The oval portrait orientation further accentuates the contained dynamism of the composition, while the brushwork harmonizes the various geometric forms, achieving a rhythmic, almost musical quality in the artwork, befitting its subject matter.