Artwork
The Checkerboard
The Checkerboard is an oil painting by the Cubism Synthetic artist Juan Gris. It dates from 1915 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
About this work
Overview
Juan Gris’s 1915 oil painting titled The Checkerboard presents a still‑life arrangement centered on a checkerboard surface. The composition includes a board, a chessboard pattern, and a glass placed upon a tabletop, all rendered in a palette of greens, yellows, blues, browns and blacks. The work belongs to the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Subject & Meaning
The painting isolates everyday objects, a checkerboard, a chessboard and a drinking glass, and reduces them to interlocking geometric planes. By fragmenting the forms, Gris invites viewers to consider the relationship between ordinary items and the abstract structures that underlie visual perception, echoing the analytical approach of early Cubism.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, the work employs a muted yet varied color scheme that emphasizes flat surfaces and sharp edges. Gris divides each object into overlapping facets, creating a sense of depth through juxtaposition rather than traditional modeling. The resulting visual field suggests a suspended arrangement, where shapes appear to hover above one another.
History & Provenance
Created during the height of Gris’s Cubist period, The Checkerboard entered the Art Institute of Chicago’s holdings in the mid‑20th century, where it has remained on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s commitment to representing pivotal developments in early 20th‑century modern art.
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.
