Artwork
Water Bottle, Bowl and Glass
Water Bottle, Bowl and Glass is an oil painting by the Cubism Synthetic artist Juan Gris. It dates from 1919 and is held in the collection of the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection.
About this work
Overview
Painted in 1919, Water Bottle, Bowl and Glass is an oil on canvas still life by Spanish artist Juan Gris. It presents three everyday objects, a glass, a bowl, and a water bottle, arranged with deliberate simplicity. The work belongs to the collection of Kunsthaus Zürich and exemplifies Gris’s mature Cubist approach, where form is reduced to interlocking planes and subtle tonal shifts.
Subject & Meaning
The composition focuses on ordinary domestic items, stripped of ornamentation and presented without narrative context.
The composition focuses on ordinary domestic items, stripped of ornamentation and presented without narrative context. By isolating these vessels, Gris invites attention to their structural relationships rather than their function. The absence of human presence or symbolic reference shifts focus to the quiet geometry of form and space, reflecting Cubism’s interest in perception over representation.
Technique & Style
Gris employs a restrained palette of blues, browns, and whites, with sharp edges and flattened planes to define each object. Light is suggested through gradations of tone rather than chiaroscuro, creating volume through contrast rather than realism. The surfaces are carefully modulated, with overlapping shapes suggesting spatial depth while maintaining a two-dimensional structure characteristic of Synthetic Cubism.
History & Provenance
Created in 1919 during Gris’s Parisian period, the painting emerged after his most experimental Cubist phases. It entered the Kunsthaus Zürich collection in the mid-20th century, likely through acquisitions focused on European modernism. Its provenance reflects the museum’s long-standing commitment to early 20th-century avant-garde works, particularly those aligned with Cubist principles.
Context
This work belongs to the later phase of Cubism, when artists like Gris moved toward greater clarity and order after the fragmentation of Analytic Cubism. Influenced by his friendship with Picasso and Braque, Gris synthesized structure with decorative harmony. The painting reflects a broader post-war interest in stability and formal discipline within modern art.
Legacy
Water Bottle, Bowl and Glass stands as a refined example of Synthetic Cubism’s capacity to elevate the mundane through abstraction. It influenced later generations of artists interested in the interplay of form and space, contributing to the broader acceptance of non-representational composition in modern art. Its quiet precision continues to inform discussions on objecthood and perception.
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.
