Juan Gris (1887-1927)

Spanish sculptor and painter Juan Gris is considered the Third Member of Cubism, after Pablo Picasso and George Braque, although he remains greatly overshadowed by his more famous colleagues. Gris worked his way through analytical and synthetic Cubism, to create his own unique and colourful style, but it was his highly intellectual approach to his work that established him as the greatest theorist among the Cubist painters. This alone secures his place as a leading figure in the history of art in the early 20th century. Also influenced by the Fauves art movement, his best known work is Portrait of Picasso, 1912 (The Art Institute of Chicago). He is regarded as one of the 20th century's great abstract painters.

Portrait Of Picasso (1912)
Art Institute of Chicago.

POSTERS OF JUAN GRIS
Paintings by Juan Gris
are widely available online
in the form of poster art.

Early Life

Born in Madrid, his original name was José Victoriano Carmelo Carlos González-Pérez. He studied mechanical drawing at the Escuela de Artes y Manufacturas in 1902 for two years, and in 1904 studied fine art painting under the academic artist Jose Maria Carbonero. In 1906 he moved to Paris, where he adopted the pseudonym Juan Gris. He was to remain in Paris for the rest of his life. Soon after arriving he became friends with his neighbour Picasso, and was introduced to other artists, including the Fauvist Henri Matisse, the Cubists Fernand Léger and Georges Braque, and the Expressionist painter Amedeo Modigliani (who painted his portrait in 1915). He was impressed by Picasso, and worked with both him and Braque on the development of Cubism. By 1912, he had developed his own personal style of Cubist art, which used brighter colours than his associates and owed something to Matisse and the Fauvists. Works from this early period include: Three Lamps, 1910 (Kunstmuseum Bern); Bottles and Knife, 1911; Still-life with Oil Lamp, 1911 (both (Rijksmuseum Kroeller-Mueller, Otterlo); Portrait of Picasso; Still Life with Flowers, 1912 (The Museum of Modern Art, New York); Glass of Beer and Playing Cards, 1913 (Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio).

Violin And Checkerboard (1913).

In 1912 he exhibited for the first time at the Salon des Independants and Salon de la Section d'Or in Paris, along with Der Sturm Gallery in Berlin and the Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona. The same year Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, one of the premier French art dealers of the 20th century, agreed to be Gris's dealer.

Gris came into contact with all the famous painters of his time, and became friends with many artists, including the Cubist sculptor Jacques Lipchitz and Jean Metzinger (a member of the Section d'Or group of artists).

After 1913 he began his conversion to synthetic Cubism, and became an important contributor to the development of the style. His oil painting became brighter, with a more vivid colour palette, and he integrated paper colle and collage into his compositions.

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Paintings from this time include Landscape with Houses at Ceret, 1913 (Galeria Theo, Madrid); Landscape at Ceret, 1913 (Moderna Museet, Stockholm); Guitar on a Chair, 1913 (Private Collection); The Siphon, 1913 (Rose Art Museum, Massachusetts); Violin and Checkerboard, 1913 (Stephen a. Simon and Bonnie Simon Collection); Pears and Grapes on a Table, 1913 (Burton Tremaine Collection, Meriden, CT); Bottle and Glass on a Table, 1913 (Galerie Jan Krugier, Geneva); Fruit Dish and Carafe, 1914 (Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Otterlo); Breakfast, 1914 (The Museum of Modern Art); A Man in a Cafe, 1914 (Acquavella Galleries, Inc., New York); Guitar on a Table, 1915 (Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller); Water-bottle, Bottle, and Fruit-dish, 1915 (Private Collection); Harlequin at a Table, 1919 (Private Collection); The Open Window, 1921 (Meyer Collection, Zurich).

In 1924 he was asked to design the costumes and ballet set for the famous Ballet Russes. In 1924 he delivered definitive lectures on the possibilities of painting at the Sorbonne. Major exhibitions of his works took place at the Galerie Flechtheim in Berlin and the Galerie Simon in Paris in 1923, and at the Galerie Flechtheim in Düsseldorf in 1925. One of his last completed paintings was Guitar and Music Paper, 1926-27 (Saidenberg Gallery, New York). During the war years his art dealer had left the country, and when he returned in 1918 he said, 'I had left behind a young painter whose works I liked. I had returned to find a master'. However, due to ill health, it is generally agreed that Gris work declined in the 1920s. Juan Gris died prematurely in 1927, he was only 39 years old. He was survived by his wife and son. One of the great 20th century painters in the Cubist style, the popularity and recognition of his work has increased over the years, and in 2005 one of his paintings sold for the phenomenal amount of $69 million.

Paintings by Juan Gris hang in the best art museums across the world.

• For information about contemporary artists, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.