The artwork “Guitar on a Table” was created by Juan Gris in 1915. This oil on canvas exemplifies the Synthetic Cubism movement. As a still life, it measures 73 by 92 centimeters and is currently housed at the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Netherlands.
The artwork is a complex assortment of geometric planes and shapes, showcasing the fragmentation and reassembly characteristics of Cubism. It depicts a guitar as the central motif, but the instrument is broken down into a series of overlapping shapes and abstracted forms. The color palette is rich and varied, dominated by shades of blue, brown, green, and speckled patterns, which introduce texture and depth. Delineations reminiscent of guitar strings and the instrument’s curves are discernible, interspersed with what appears to be sheet music and elements of the table surface. The composition is both structured and dynamic, typical of Gris’s approach to Synthetic Cubism, where the focus was more on the composition and color, rather than the deconstruction prominent in Analytic Cubism. The artwork is an exploration of form and perspective, inviting viewers to decipher the fragmented reality portrayed.
