Georges Braque

Paul Rosenberg, Paris (photo no. 985, acquired from the artist)

Alex. Reid & Lefevre (The Lefevre Gallery), London (acquired from the above)

Lord Amulree, England

Acquired as a bequest from the above in 1985

Edinburgh, Edinburgh Festival & London, Tate Gallery, G. Braque, 1956, no. 55, illustrated in the catalogue

Munch, Haus der Kunst, Georges Braque, 1963, no. 68, illustrated in the catalogue

Christian Zervos, Cahiers d'Art, Paris, 1928, no. 1, illustrated p. 10

Christian Zervos, "Georges Braque," Cahiers d'Art, Paris, 1933, illustrated p. 49

Georges Isarlov, Catalogue des oeuvres de Georges Braque, Paris, 1932, no. 319, catalogued p. 23

Maurice Gieure, Georges Braque, Paris, 1956, no. 51, illustrated

John Richardson, G. Braque, Milan, 1960, illustrated in color pl. XXVIII (incorrectly catalogued as oil on canvas)

Nicole S. Mangin, Catalogue de l'oeuvre de Georges Braque, Peintures 1924-27, Zurich, 1968, illustrated in color pl. 7 (catalogued as oil on board)

Edward Mullens, Braque, London, 1968, fig. 74, illustrated p. 104

Pierre Descargues & Massimo Carrà, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Braque, 1908-1929, Paris, 1973, no. 210, illustrated p. 96

Vivianne Barsky, "Soberly Celebrating Life: A "Cabinet Picture" by Braque," Bullentin of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1985, illustrated p. 97

Very good condition. The panel has been cradled. Scattered very fine lines of cracking, mosty hotizontal; otherwise the surface is fine. Under UV light, two 2” lines of inpainting in the lower left corner. Lines of inpaintng through the three figs. A few scattered hairlines of inpainting in the pear at center. This is probably to lessen the cracking in the panel.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The still-life was a theme to which Braque returned consistently throughout his long and productive career.  In every phase, beginning with the Fauve period and culminating in the majestic interiors of his last years, Braque found the arrangement of a limited number of objects on a table-top or in an interior to be the most appropriate subject for his investigations of the formal and tactile qualities of painting.  In the decades following the invention of Cubism, Braque continued to refine and re-examine the expressive possibilities of his still lifes, always creating innovative ways to represent common objects.   

Completed in 1924 at the beginning of the Surrealist movement, this dynamic still-life epitomizes the 'transparent' aesthetic that would define Braque's work for the next decade. Elements of the composition overlap with varying degrees of transparency, creating an illusion of recession and depth.  The dimensionality of the picture is further enhanced by Braque's inventive choice of color.  His limited palette of gray, red-brown and umber strategically focuses the eye towards the center of the canvas, where the bright fabric of the tablecloth envelopes the arrangement.  Braque's experiments with the transparency of form would have a profound effect on the work of his fellow Surrealists painters, most notably in Picasso's still lifes painted in the 1930s.