1887 -1927 · Madrid, Paris, Bateau-Lavoir and synthetic cubism

Rigorous structure, glued papers and luminous harmonies make Juan Gris the clearest and most colorful architect of Cubism.

José Victoriano Gonzalez-Pérez, known as Juan Gris, was born in Madrid in 1887. Trained in industrial design, he moved to Paris in 1906 and took a workshop at the Bateau-Lavoir, near Picasso. He first earned his living as an illustrator and caricaturist for the French and Spanish press. From 1911, he devoted himself fully to painting and joined the development of Cubism with Picasso and Braque, while quickly developing a distinct method. Where analytical cubism fragmented the object, Gris reconstructed the composition from a precise geometric frame, interlocking shapes and colorful chords. Portrait of Pablo Picasso affirmed this monumental ambition in 1912. In 1913 and 1914, his pasted papers included newspapers, faux wood, typography and printed motifs; Fantomas and Le Petit Déjeuner play with everyday signs while maintaining architectural coherence. Supported by the merchant Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler and close to the poets Pierre Reverdy and Guillaume Apollinaire, Gris developed after the war a broader cubism, sometimes almost classic. Died at forty in 1927, he left a brief but decisive work. Died at forty in 1927, he left behind a brief but decisive work. The "Juan Gris" selection notably compares Portrait of Pablo Picasso and Still Life with a Checkered Tablecloth. His reading favors figures.

Gray does not break the object: he reconstructs it with the logic of architecture and music of colorful harmony.