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,
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