Man in the Cafe 1912

Juan Gris painted this ‘Man in the Cafe’ with oil on canvas, though the date is unknown, the fractured composition of the man in his cafe setting is compelling! Gris layers flat shapes and tonal contrasts to create this deconstructed image. Notice the density of detail in the man’s face. Gris uses sharp, angular brushstrokes to build his features, like tiny pieces of glass in a mosaic, and the subtle shading creates a sense of volume, especially in his magnificent mustache. The dark paint which defines the composition's structure is mostly opaque and heavy, and the flat planes of color used to build the subject give depth to the piece. While the Cubist style of Picasso and Braque is apparent in this painting, Gris's commitment to shape and geometry also connects him to artists like Mondrian and the De Stijl movement, and how he, like them, was trying to build his own vision of modernity. Art, like life, is complex, contradictory, and never tells the same story twice.