Painting Collection Georges Braque Studio with Black Vase (1882—1963) During the late 1930s, Georges Braque painted views of his studio and its various objects and decorative elements as layered, flattened components, stacked and fractured through diagonal and geometric lines. In this large canvas, he places the viewer in the perspective of the artist at work, with a painting-in-progress sitting on the easel and a palette with four quick dashes of color positioned precariously on the edge of a small table. Braque used a deconstruction of perspective and volume, which he first realized while developing Cubism with Picasso in the early 20th century. In this painting, he assembled a symphonic collection of patterns and layers within the room, some with thick applications of pigment and paint mixed with sand, creating varied texture on the canvas. Braque painted this composition while living in Normandy just before the German occupation of France. The ominousness of this time may have contributed to the darker hues in this painting and the appearance of a skull on the side table, facing away from the viewer. The skull was a repeated subject in Braque’s paintings from this period, echoing the impending danger of World War II. —Danielle O'Steen, Ph.D. |
  
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