Artwork
Jar, Bottle and Glass
Jar, Bottle and Glass is an oil painting by the Cubism Analytic artist Juan Gris. It dates from 1911 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Juan Gris’s 1911 oil painting titled Jar, Bottle and Glass presents a modest still‑life composition now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The work brings together three everyday vessels, a jar, a bottle and a glass, arranged side by side, inviting quiet observation of ordinary objects rendered through a disciplined visual language.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas focuses on the simple grouping of the three containers, each isolated yet linked by their shared materiality. By choosing commonplace household items, Gris emphasizes the aesthetic potential of the mundane, encouraging viewers to consider form and balance inherent in daily life rather than narrative content.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the painting employs the fragmented geometry characteristic of Cubism. Gris reduces the forms to intersecting planes and muted tonal blocks of brown, gray and beige, while retaining visible brushwork that adds a subtle surface texture. The overall effect is a restrained, almost sculptural rendering of volume and space.
History & Provenance
Created in the early phase of Gris’s Cubist period, the work entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings during the mid‑20th century, where it has remained on view as part of the museum’s modernist collection. Its acquisition reflects the institution’s commitment to representing pivotal developments in early 20th‑century abstraction.
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Artist & collection
Artist
José Victoriano González-Pérez, better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period.
