Still Life (1916) by Juan Gris is a typical example of Synthetic Cubism, a late stage of Cubism that was prompted by experiments with collage and, more specifically, papier collé (cut and pasted paper). Following the example set by Pablo Picasso and George Braque, Gris began to make collages in 1913. However, unlike Picasso and Braque, Gris’s engagement with collage was short-lived, and he soon returned to painting. Nonetheless, paintings like Still Life demonstrate a continuing connection between Gris’s painting and collage. Gris deconstructed the objects depicted in Still Life into sharp-edged geometric shapes, that resembled collage fragments.
The invention of collage introduced new materials like newspapers and wallpapers into artworks. Even though Gris painted Still Life after he stopped making collages, he simulated some of the effects achieved in his collages, such as Still Life (The Table) (1914). The wallpaper used in Still Life (The Table) is echoed in the yellow and brown imitation of wood graining in the 1916 Still Life. Additionally, the dotted passages in the painting resemble the speckled wallpaper seen in Picasso’s papier collé work, Pipe and Musical Score (1914). At the same time, these dotted passages also resemble the pointillist technique used by Neo-Impressionists.
Another characteristic of Synthetic Cubism is a richer color palette, and in Still Life, Gris uses bright tones of green, yellow, and blue that are offset by the patches of black. In earlier stages of Cubism, the color palette tended to be limited to draw more attention to the structural elements of the composition. In contrast, Synthetic Cubism emphasized the flat qualities of the image and thus allowed a more open approach to color. Still Life illustrates this difference: while in earlier Cubist paintings, the spatial illusion was created by the dark and light modeling, in works like Still Life the spatial illusion emerges from the interplay of the flat geometric shapes. In the painting, Gris was able to represent shading through the black patches and the dotted passages. For example, the neck of the bottle in Still Life is represented by the green dots against the light-yellow background on the left, and the solid green patch on the right. Because the dotted passages imitated the speckled wallpaper used in Cubist collages, they also added a decorative dimension to the painting.
Still Life demonstrates the innovations of Synthetic Cubism: there was no longer an attempt to create the illusion of three-dimensional space and instead, painters like Gris emphasized the flatness of the surface. It also shows Gris’s affinity and understanding of color, as well as his ability to integrate elements of collage into the medium of painting. Paintings like Still Life, that Gris painted between 1913 and 1918 are widely considered to be the height of his artistic achievements. Today, the painting belongs to the art collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
