About Juan Gris
Cubist still lifes, planned down to the last shape
Juan Gris was a Spanish painter born in Madrid in 1887.
Juan Gris at a glance
- Born: 1887, Madrid, Spain
- Died: 1927, Boulogne-sur-Seine, France
- Birth name: Jose Victoriano Gonzalez-Perez
- Nationality: Spanish
- Known for: Bright, carefully planned Cubist still lifes
- Style or Movement: Cubism
- Based in: Paris, France, from 1906
- Notable works: Portrait of Picasso (1912), Still Life with Checked Tablecloth (1915)
“My painting is a calculation; it is a mathematics of color and form.”
He studied engineering at the Madrid School of Arts and Sciences before moving to Paris in 1906. He became friends with artists like Picasso, Braque, and Matisse, and poets like Apollinaire. He began painting seriously in 1911, developing a personal Cubist style. He exhibited for the first time at the 1912 Salon des Indépendants with a painting entitled Hommage à Pablo Picasso. He lived and worked in France for most of his active period, becoming closely associated with the Cubist movement.
- Born José Victoriano González-Pérez in 1887.
- Adopted the name Juan Gris in 1905.
- Moved to Paris in 1906.
- Began painting seriously in 1911.
- Known for his distinctive Cubist style.
He was born in Madrid and later studied engineering at the Madrid School of Arts and Sciences, where he contributed drawings to local periodicals. From 1904 to 1905, he studied painting with the academic artist José Moreno Carbonero. In 1909, his wife Lucie Belin gave birth to his only child, Georges. He lived at the Bateau-Lavoir in Paris from 1909 to 1911, where he met Charlotte Augusta Fernande Herpin, also known as Josette, who became his second companion. His work is considered among the most distinctive of the Cubist movement.
In Paris, he submitted illustrations to journals such as L’Assiette au Beurre and Le Rire. He followed the lead of Metzinger and Picasso, and his work was influenced by the mathematics of painting. He gave up working as a satirical cartoonist in 1911 to focuss on painting, developing his own Cubist style. His works are characterized by their use of vibrant colors and geometric shapes, and he is celebrated for his contributions to the development of Cubism. He died in 1927, leaving behind a rich legacy of art that continues to influence artists today.