Juan Gris

Galerie Simon, Paris
Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet, Stockholm
Private Collection, Stockholm (acquired circa  1940)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Stockholm, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Cézanne till Picasso, 1954, no. 168

Douglas Cooper, Letters of Juan Gris, 1913-1927, London, 1956, no. CCXL
Juan Antoni Gaya-Nuño, Juan Gris, Paris, 1974, no 585, illustrated p. 231
Douglas Cooper, Juan Gris Catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1977, vol. II, no. 600, illustrated p. 417

The canvas is not lined. UV examination reveals a few tiny spots of retouching to the left and lower extreme edges and a small vertical line of retouching to the black at the lower right corner, all of which are outside of the composition itself. There is a slightly uneven varnish in places which fluoresces unevenly under UV light, most prominently in the faux bois section and lower brown element. Otherwise, this work is in very good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

From the prestigious Grace and Philip Sandblom Collection, the present work is one of a number of distinguished works by modern masters such as Delacroix, Renoir, Picasso, Matisse, and Braque, assembled by this truly conoisseurial couple over a period of seventy years. A renowned surgeon and Professor at Lund University, Philip shared his passion for art with his wife Grace, who he first met in 1932. The Sandblom Collection has donated several important works to the National Museum and Moderna Museet in Stockholm, including Pablo Picasso’s, La Sourcefrom 1921.

Painted in 1926, just one year before Gris’ premature death, La tranche de melon is a boldly authoritative treatise on themes that preoccupied the artist from the early stages of Cubism. Firmly locked into place by a series of overlapping planes, the vase, newspaper and sliced melon are not characterised by the softness of many of the elements in Gris’ late compositions, gaining in the process solidity and clarity of definition that is the result of clearly defined boundaries and saturated areas of strong colour. While intense colour had always been a hallmark of Gris’ approach, the stark organisation of the present composition is doubtless a nod to his admiration for the work of Le Corbusier and the rappel à l’ordre following the First World War.

In the present work, Gris depicts the iconic front page of Le Journal, a daily newspaper first published in 1892 and which had become ubiquitous in Paris café culture by World War I. The geometric font of the headline typeset appealed to the Cubists and provided a foil to the more ornate typography of publications such as Le Matin. While works from 1910-1920 often incorporated collaged elements including actual newsprint, here Gris relies solely on the artist's hand, taking time to carefully re-construct the printed newspaper font in a manner that anticipates the early Pop art of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.