Guitar on a Chair 1913

Juan Gris painted this image of a guitar on a chair sometime in the early 20th century, but it's not like any guitar or any chair I've ever seen. The artist is playing with how we see, turning solid objects into geometric puzzles, painted in browns, yellows, purples, and blues. I'm really drawn to how Gris uses the paint. It's not about hiding the process, but about revealing it. Look closely, and you can see the individual brushstrokes, the way he layers color upon color to create depth and texture. There's this one spot, a small blue triangle, that seems to be cut out, adding a flat decorative element that sits perfectly in relation to the rest of the painting. It's like he's saying, "Here's a guitar, here's a chair, but also, here's a painting." Thinking about Gris, I'm also reminded of Picasso, another artist who was constantly pushing the boundaries of representation. But where Picasso is all fire and passion, Gris is more like cool calculation and subtle wit. It's a conversation between artists, a constant questioning and re-imagining of what art can be.