Artwork
The Smoker
The Smoker is an unspecified 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 work functions as a satire, utilizing the depiction of the smoker to engage in social or cultural commentary.
Juan Gris's 1913 painting, The Smoker, centers on the act of smoking as its primary visual subject. The work functions as a satire, utilizing the depiction of the smoker to engage in social or cultural commentary. This iconographic choice reflects the artist's engagement with everyday modern life and its associated vices or habits, framing the figure within the context of early 20th-century urban existence.
History & Provenance
The Smoker was created by Juan Gris in 1913. According to Wikidata records, the painting has passed through a succession of owners over the following decades. Early in its ownership history it was held by Curt Valentin and the Curt Valentin Gallery, before moving to the collection of G. David Thompson.
It subsequently passed through the hands of Eugene Thaw, the Pierre Matisse Gallery, Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría, and Thomas Ammann Fine Art.
Later owners documented in the provenance chain include Natasha Gelman, Margit Weinberg Staber, and Frank Burty Haviland. The painting is now part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently held.
The Smoker is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its dimensions are 71.8 × 59.1 cm. The painting's provenance traces through several prominent dealers and collectors, including the Curt Valentin Gallery, Pierre Matisse Gallery, and Thomas Ammann Fine Art, as well as collectors such as Curt Valentin, G. David Thompson, Eugene Thaw, Pedro Vallenilla Echeverría, Natasha Gelman, Margit Weinberg Staber, and Frank Burty Haviland.
Overview
Juan Gris's painting, The Smoker, from 1913, is a notable example of his early Cubist work. Currently housed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this piece presents a seated figure engaged in smoking. The composition employs a distinctive visual language of sharp angles and fragmented forms, characteristic of the artist's approach to depicting everyday subjects with a critical or satirical edge. It captures a moment of contemplation through a highly structured lens.
Technique & Style
Gris constructs The Smoker using a vocabulary of rough, angular shapes and pronounced lines, which lend the composition a distinctly jagged quality. The figure's face is simplified, marked by prominent eyes and a small nose, while the body is rendered in sharp, block-like segments. This fragmented approach, combined with a seemingly spontaneous execution, suggests a preliminary study or an immediate capture of an idea, further emphasized by the artist's concise French inscription in the corner.
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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.
