The Bag of Coffee 1920

Juan Gris made The Bag of Coffee, and what I love about it is the muted palette of grays, greens, and browns. You can almost feel Gris feeling his way around the objects on the table. I can imagine him squinting at the objects in front of him, the play of light and shadow, thinking, "How can I break this down? How can I make it new?" The paint looks thin, almost like watercolor in places, but then thicker in others, giving a sense of depth. The way he renders the coffee bag with such tenderness makes me think of Cezanne, who was painting apples like they were portraits of his friends. It's like Gris is saying, "Hey, even a bag of coffee can be beautiful, can be worthy of our attention." And in doing so, he invites us to slow down, to really see the world around us.