Juan Gris: Violin And Checker Board

Juan Gris Juan Gris born March 23rd 1887, in Madrid. His birth name was; José Victoriano González-Pérez. He studied Mechanical Drawing at the Escuela de Artes y Manufacturas in Madrid from 1902 to 1904. From 1904 to 1905 he studied paintings with the academic artist José Maria Carbonero. It wasn’t until 1905 when he took up his more known name Juan Gris. In 1906 he moved to Paris and followed his friend and fellow countryman, Pablo Picasso. He was in the movement of Cubism and mostly did paintings and sculptures. Cubism is a style of art characterized by abstract shapes and unnatural perspectives.

Violin and Checker board The “Violin and Checker Board” by Juan Gris was painted in 1913. The painting has bright, bold colours, the warm colours are harmonising in the foreground,
whereas the cool colours contrast with the warm background colours which makes the checker board standout.
There’s some tone in the violin and a lot in the blanket which makes it look 3D and draws attention to them. There’s pattern in the background, the pattern in the background doesn’t standout very much as it has similar colours used throughout the painting. There is also pattern on the checkerboard, because it’s the only blue object in the painting it standout a lot more and make it the focal point of the painting. The blue checkerboard also contrasts with the orange and black pattern that’s on top of it, making it stand out a lot more than the other patterns. There is round shapes in the middle ground and more straight shapes in the foreground. The painting looks as if it’s been cut up and placed back together. The shapes are broken up and disjointed. There is a lot of straight jagged lines in the foreground but the middle ground has softer use of lines which is created by curves of the violin and the blanket. The background has soft lines of a pattern. The lines look broken up, as if it were cut up by a five year old. The checker board is the focal point of the painting because of the bright blue
colour which makes it stand out, there’s a strong contrast on the checker board, with the orange and black pattern on top of the board which is drawing attention to it. The objects are placed centrally. There are different perspectives and viewpoints of the violin. It’s a busy painting and there are a lot of the things that catch your eyes. It lacks depth because the warm colours are in the background and cool colours in the foreground which recedes. Also because the objects are layered up and they’re all from different angles so it doesn’t create depth. You can’t see any brush strokes, it’s quite abstract; you can tell it’s a painting. He might have used thicker paint for the blanket. There are large amounts of block colour. It appears he could have even used a stencil for a stencil for the orange and black pattern on the blue checkerboard. I like this painting, the bright colours draws me in and there are a lot of things to look at. I like how there and different perspectives and angles of all the objects and the diagonal lines that leads your eyes through the painting from top to bottom.
Paul Cezanne Paul Cezanne was born on 19th February 1839, in France, Aix-en-Provence. Cezanne went against his father as he committed to being an artist instead of becoming a banker like his father. In Paris; Cezanne met the Impressionist Camille Pissarro. The friendship was formed in the mid-1860s. Pissarro exerted a formative influence on the young artist. After their landscape painting together in, Louveciennes and Pontoise, it led to a collaborative relationship between them. Cezanne attended Academie Suisse. He was a Post-Impressionism artist. He was influenced by Eugene Delacroix, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Arshile Gorky. Cezanne is said to be the father of modern art.

Still Life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants The “Still life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants” by Paul Cezanne painted in 1890-94. It’s mostly cool colours with some warm colours on the fruit. The oranges stand out because they contrast with the background. There’s a lot of tone which makes the objects look 3D. The orange on its own at the left side of the painting has no tone; this also draws your eyes across the painting. The background is soft which makes the foreground bold and standout. The painting is quite light, from the shadows you can tell the light source is on the left. The light looks quite natural because it’s a very soft lighting. Mainly the shapes are round and circular with straight shapes in the background which contrasts. The foreground stands out, it’s softer and rounder. The purple/blue cloth has pattern in it. By having the pattern in the foreground it attracts you to the painting and the objects placed there. Straight lines are used on the drawer and more circular lines are used in the foreground. The technique used was oil paint on canvas, Cezanne used constructive brush strokes, the paint looks thicker in some areas, and you can see the brush strokes. The fruit is the vocal point; this is because it is the only warm colour in the painting and contrasts with the cool colours making them stand out. Also the fact they have been placed on the white cloth and the table draws further attention to them. The composition used is triangular; the tallest objects are in the middle and the smaller objects at the sides. The plate that has the fruit on it is sitting at an angle, this makes the painting look 3D and it shows a different perspective of the fruit bowl than the rest of the items in the painting. The colours are stronger in the foreground and are lighter in the background. The objects are overlapping each other which are creating depth, the use of tone makes objects look 3D which creates depth. Juan Gris and Paul Cezanne have different styles. “Violin and Checker Board” by Juan Gris is centred and very busy, the diagonal lines that lead you through the painting from top to bottom allowing you to look at each individual object. Whereas “Still Life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants” by Paul Cezanne, is empty compared to Gris’s painting. It’s quite simplistic and has natural colours where Gris’s painting has bright bold colours. Gris’s painting has different perspectives of the violin and it has lots of pattern in it and Cezanne’s has only one perspective of the fruit bowl and only one pattern on the vase.