Lot 260
  • 260

Juan Gris

Estimate
350,000 - 450,000 GBP
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Description

  • Juan Gris
  • LA MANDOLINE NOIRE
  • signed Juan Gris and dated 26 (lower right)

  • oil on canvas
  • 56 by 65cm., 22 by 25 5/8 in.

Provenance

Galerie Simon, Paris
Dr. Gottlieb F. Reber, Lausanne
Acquired from the above by the family of the present owners in December 1947

Exhibited

Paris, Galerie Simon, Exposition rétrospective Juan Gris, 1928, no. 54
Zurich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Juan Gris, 1933, no. 141

Literature

Cahiers d'Art, Paris, 1926, no. 10, illustrated p. 273
Cahiers d'Art, Paris, 1933, nos. 5-6, illustrated
Douglas Cooper, Juan Gris, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre peint, Paris, 1977, vol. II, no. 589, illustrated p. 410

Condition

The canvas is not lined. There are a few minor scattered pinhead-sized spots of retouching, including in the lower right quadrant and close to the lower edge, three spots towards the centre of the left edge and one towards the upper right corner. There are some specks of retouching at intervals along the extreme edges, mainly to the right edge. All retouching is visible under UV light. Otherwise, apart from some very light surface dirt in areas, this work is in very good condition. Colours: Fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, although the colours are much more vibrant and stronger in the original, especially the yellows and the green.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

'Gertrude Stein called Juan Gris "a perfect painter" and it is not difficult to appreciate her characterization. In a painting by him we find an intensely satisfying, hermetic relationship of pictorial elements, one balanced by the next and then another until the subtlety of resonance reaches an exquisite pitch' (Norman Rosenthal, Juan Gris, New York, 1983, p. 3).

La Mandoline noire, painted the year before Gris's untimely death in 1927, exemplifies the stylistic traits that defined Cubism. The multiple planes and refracted perspective are typical of the optical experimentation of the movement, but the vibrant, rich palette shows Gris's distinctive interpretation of Cubism. The present work illustrates what Gris described as his 'deductive method' in which he would begin with abstract shapes that would, with the painting process, materialize into concrete objects. Firmly locked into place by a series of overlapping planes, the mandolin, book, pear and tablecloth achieve a solidity and clarity of definition that is the result of strong geometric lines and intense blocks of colour.

Fig. 1 shows the present work hanging (lower tier, at far right of left wall) in a retrosepctive held at the gallery of his close friend Daniel Kahnweiler a year after Gris's tragically premature death in 1927. Gris's ill health through the 1920s cast a dark shadow over his ever increasing commercial and critical success which would be sadly cut short at a time when Gris was at the height of his artistic powers. Along with Picasso, Daniel Kahnweiler was one of the chief mourners at Gris's funeral in Paris and it was Kahnweiler who carefully guarded Gris's posthumous reputation as one of the great master's of Cubism.