Juan Gris

Juan Gris (Spanish: Juan Gris, real name: José Victoriano Carmelo Carlos González Pérez; March 23, 1887, Madrid – May 11, 1927, Boulogne-Billancourt) – Spanish painter and sculptor, one of the founders of Cubism.

The Beginning of His Career

The main genre of Gris's painting is still life. His first and one of the most successful paintings – "Homage to Picasso" – was exhibited in 1912 in Barcelona.

Between 1914 and 1918, he evolved from analytical Cubism to synthetic Cubism. Gris's first solo exhibition took place in 1919 in Paris, followed by exhibitions in Berlin (1923) and Düsseldorf (1925).

From 1922 to 1924, he collaborated with Sergei Diaghilev and his ballet company. He worked on book illustrations (for Apollinaire, Reverdy, Huidobro). He used gouache and watercolor, experimenting with collage techniques (from 1913). He was friends with Pierre Reverdy and Gertrude Stein, who supported the artist and promoted his works in the art market.

Juan Gris and Gertrude Stein

In 1924, Stein wrote an article about Juan Gris for the Little Revue magazine. According to Gertrude Stein, Picasso founded Cubism, while Gris "infused Cubism with clarity and exaltation." Although Gris considered Picasso his mentor, in her book "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas," Stein writes that Picasso grew increasingly irritated with him. According to Stein's recollections, he was the only person "whom Picasso could not stand." Initially seen as Picasso's follower, when Gris became an independent artist and one of the leaders of Cubism, Picasso began to resent him.

The 1920s: Exhibitions and Lectures

In 1923 and 1925, major solo exhibitions of Gris were held at the Flechtheim galleries in Berlin and Düsseldorf. By this time, the artist had already created some of his most outstanding works: "The Artist's Table" (1925) and "The Blue Carpet" (1925).

In the 1920s, Cubism was an established and, in many ways, completed phenomenon. Cubist painting occupied a position between idealistic abstraction and structural realism.

In the mid-1920s, Gris worked extensively in the field of art theory. In 1924, Gris delivered a lecture to students of the philosophy faculty at the Sorbonne titled "Des possibilités de la peinture" ("Possibilities of Painting"). In his speech, Juan Gris expressed the idea that no work destined to become a classic can resemble the art of the preceding period. "In art, as in biology, there is continuity, but no resemblance to ancestors. Artists inherit characteristics from their predecessors; hence, no important work of art can belong to any other era except its own…"

Personal Life

In 1909, Lucie Belin (1891–1942), Gris's wife, gave birth to Georges González-Gris (1909–2003), the artist's only child. From 1909 to 1911, they lived in the Bateau-Lavoir in Paris. In 1912, Gris met Charlotte Augusta Fernande Herpin (1894–1983), also known as Josette. By the end of 1913 or early 1914, they were living together in the Bateau-Lavoir until 1922. Josette Gris was Gris's second companion and unofficial wife.

Final Years and Death

Since October 1925, Gris suffered frequent attacks of uremia and had heart problems. He died of kidney failure in Boulogne-Billancourt, a western suburb of Paris, on May 11, 1927, at the age of 40, leaving behind his wife Josette and son Georges.

Juan Gris - Gallery of the best paintings