Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Painter
Juan Gris
Juan Gris was a Spanish Cubist painter whose still lifes combine crystalline geometric planes, bright color, and precisely constructed paper collage.
Juan Gris quick facts
Gris developed a systematic Cubist approach in Paris, coordinating overlapping objects, painted planes, and carefully placed printed papers.
| Born | 1887 · Madrid, Spain |
|---|---|
| Died | 1927 · Boulogne-sur-Seine, France |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Movements | Cubism |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Gouache Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper |
| Painting methods | Geometric division of objects, intersecting viewpoints, cut-and-pasted papers, layered gouache and oil, and imitation printed wood grain |
| Common subjects | Guitars, glasses, bottles, fruit dishes, newspapers, café tables, and occasional urban scenes |
| Notable works | Houses in Paris · Breakfast · Bottle of Rum and Newspaper · The Man at a Café |
| Mixed materials | Newspapers, printed imitation wood-grain papers, labels, graphite, and crayon combined with paint |
Sources: Guggenheim: Houses in Paris, oil on canvas, MoMA: Breakfast, gouache and oil on collaged paper and canvas, Guggenheim: Bottle of Rum and Newspaper, paper collage and gouache, The Met: The Man at a Café, oil and newsprint on canvas.
Paint types used
Gris painted in oil and used gouache in layered collage compositions, combining opaque color with paper fragments and drawn details.
Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, drying to a matte finish that can be reactivated with water.
Surface types used
His traditional paintings used canvas; Cubist collages also used sheets of newspaper and colored paper mounted or pasted onto canvas.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made from pressed fibers, with weight, sizing, and surface texture controlling moisture tolerance and paint behavior.
Painters similar to Juan Gris
Gris worked alongside Braque and Picasso as Cubism developed, sharing their interest in multiple viewpoints and the possibilities of papier collé.
Georges Braque
Georges Braque was a French painter who helped develop Cubism, combining fragmented still lifes with textured oil paint, stenciling, and paper collage.
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish artist whose long career moved through many styles and media, from the Blue and Rose periods to Cubism, classicism, Surrealism, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics.