Gris, Juan. (1887–1927). Original Illustration for "Le Tabac," (L'Assiette au Beurre,1909).
Tempera and pen and India ink on paper, signed lower left with artist's monogram. 8.75 x 12 inches. Framed behind glass, in fine condition. Provenance: Christie's, 16 May, 1985.
This work was executed in 1909 as a study for the illustration on p. 984 of L'Assiette au Beurre, Paris, 29 May 1909, titled "Le Tabac" and concerning smoking and with illustrations of its many manifestations. The present illustration appears with the text (translated from the French), "Doesn't it seem to you that the little baroness lights up this gentleman? // It's a waste of time, my dear, he's a tobacco manufacturer...he won't catch fire!" Sold with an original copy of this issue.
The magazine L'Assiette was published from 1901-1912 and featured drawings, mainly caricatures, by many well known artists such as Juan Gris, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen and Frank Kupka. Through caricature, these artists poked fun at the wealthy, police, politicians, the military, the church, and other established or bourgeois groups as well as addressing social and political issues of the Belle Epoque era.
After completing his artistic studies in Madrid, Gris moved to Paris in 1906, where his friends included Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, and Pablo Picasso and the writers Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, and Maurice Raynal. Although he continued to submit humorous illustrations to journals such as L'Assiette au beurre, Le Charivari, and Le Cri de Paris, Gris began to paint seriously in 1910 and by 1912 he had developed the personal Cubist style, for which he is now best remembered.
Gris, Juan. (1887–1927). Original Illustration for "Le Tabac," (L'Assiette au Beurre,1909).
Tempera and pen and India ink on paper, signed lower left with artist's monogram. 8.75 x 12 inches. Framed behind glass, in fine condition. Provenance: Christie's, 16 May, 1985.
This work was executed in 1909 as a study for the illustration on p. 984 of L'Assiette au Beurre, Paris, 29 May 1909, titled "Le Tabac" and concerning smoking and with illustrations of its many manifestations. The present illustration appears with the text (translated from the French), "Doesn't it seem to you that the little baroness lights up this gentleman? // It's a waste of time, my dear, he's a tobacco manufacturer...he won't catch fire!" Sold with an original copy of this issue.
The magazine L'Assiette was published from 1901-1912 and featured drawings, mainly caricatures, by many well known artists such as Juan Gris, Théophile Alexandre Steinlen and Frank Kupka. Through caricature, these artists poked fun at the wealthy, police, politicians, the military, the church, and other established or bourgeois groups as well as addressing social and political issues of the Belle Epoque era.
After completing his artistic studies in Madrid, Gris moved to Paris in 1906, where his friends included Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, and Pablo Picasso and the writers Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Jacob, and Maurice Raynal. Although he continued to submit humorous illustrations to journals such as L'Assiette au beurre, Le Charivari, and Le Cri de Paris, Gris began to paint seriously in 1910 and by 1912 he had developed the personal Cubist style, for which he is now best remembered.