Artwork
Pears and Grapes on a Table
Pears and Grapes on a Table is an oil painting by the Cubism Synthetic artist Juan Gris. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The subject of Pears and Grapes on a Table (1913) is a still-life arrangement of common fruits, pears and grapes, alongside everyday objects such as glasses and newspapers, rendered in a Cubist idiom that fragments and reconfigures visual space. Gris's composition does not employ overt religious or allegorical symbolism but instead emphasizes the materiality and structure of the depicted items, aligning with Cubism's rejection of traditional illusionism. The inclusion of newspapers and domestic objects situates the work within the modern urban environment, while the choice of pears and grapes may subtly reference abundance or seasonal cycles without carrying explicit iconographic meaning.
The painting's Cubist treatment, flattened planes, geometric simplification, and interplay of solid and void, serves to explore perception and representation rather than convey a symbolic narrative.
Technique & Style
6 cm in height and 73 cm in width, the composition reflects Juan Gris's formal approach to deconstructing objects into geometric planes.
Created in the autumn of 1913 in Céret, Pears and Grapes on a Table is an oil painting executed on canvas. The work exemplifies the Cubist movement through its fragmented depiction of still-life elements, specifically pears, grapes, glasses, and newspapers arranged on a table. Measuring 54.6 cm in height and 73 cm in width, the composition reflects Juan Gris's formal approach to deconstructing objects into geometric planes.
The painting is currently held in the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Its stylistic execution relies on the interplay of oil pigment on the textile support to achieve the characteristic analytical complexity associated with Gris's work during this period.
History & Provenance
Juan Gris executed the oil painting Pears and Grapes on a Table during the autumn of 1913 while residing in Céret. The work, depicting a Cubist still life with fruit, glasses, and newspapers, originally belonged to a private collection. It was subsequently promised to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it is now held as part of the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection.
The painting's exhibition history includes its presentation in Le Cubisme at the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou in Paris between 2018 and 2019.
Context
Painted in the autumn of 1913 in Céret, the work exemplifies Juan Gris's late Cubist still-life in which fragmented fruit and glass are rendered through interlocking planes. It belongs to the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a holding highlighted in the museum's catalogue and in the movement's seminal exhibition Le Cubisme (2018–2019). The painting's analytical structure and decorative motifs illustrate Gris's dialogue with Braque and his role in extending Cubist abstraction to everyday subjects.
Legacy
Pears and Grapes on a Table is held in the Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, underscoring its status as a key work within Juan Gris's Cubist output. Its inclusion in the 2018–2019 Le Cubisme exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris further highlights its ongoing scholarly relevance and contributes to the painting's enduring legacy in the study of early twentieth-century still life.
Overview
Juan Gris's "Pears and Grapes on a Table," an oil painting from 1913, exemplifies the artist's distinctive approach to still life. This work, now housed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, transforms everyday objects into a complex arrangement of fragmented forms and vibrant hues. It showcases his engagement with Cubist principles, presenting a familiar subject through a lens of geometric abstraction and bold compositional choices.
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.
