Georges Braque

Estate of the artist
Private Collection, France (by descent from the above)
Private Collection, Europe (a gift from the above circa 1965 and sold: Christie's, London, June 24, 2009, lot 115)
Acquired at the above sale 

Executed on paper laid down on canvas, which has been affixed to a mount at several places around the perimeter on verso. Medium is very strong. A one-centimeter surface scratch extending from the center of the right edge. There are a few tiny nicks to the extreme perimeter of the sheet and some tiny areas of cracking to the black medium around the extreme perimeter, otherwise fine. This work is in very good condition.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Braque’s fascination with the still life persisted throughout his long and productive career. He found the arrangement of a limited number of objects on a table-top or in an interior to be the most appropriate mode for his investigations of the formal and tactile qualities of painting. Executed in the same year he was awarded the top prize at the Venice Biennale, Nature morte is a prime example of the artist's mature explorations of the complex relationships between form and space. He wrote, "Without having striven for it, I do in fact end by changing the meaning of objects and giving them a pictorial significance which is adequate to their new life. When I paint a vase, it is not with the intention of painting a utensil capable of holding water. It is for quite another reason. Objects are recreated for a new purpose: in this case, that of playing a part in a picture. Once an object has been integrated into a picture, it accepts a new density and at the same time becomes universal. If it remains an individual object this must be due to lack of improvisation or imagination. As they give up their habitual function, so objects become united by the relationships which sprung up between them and the picture and ultimately myself" (quoted in Douglas Cooper, Braque, The Great Years, Chicago, 1972, p. 111).