Gastone Novelli
An Obelisk for Memory
1968
Not on View
Georges Braque
Summer–Fall 1912
The Clarinet was probably executed in the late summer of 1912, during the waning moments of Analytic Cubism. Characteristic of this period are the oval format, which frees the canvas from the stringencies of corners, the appearance of letters within the image, and the use of imitation wood grain as trompe l’oeil (a technique Georges Braque introduced into the Cubist repertory). The image is paler and less strongly articulated than that of Pablo Picasso’s The Poet of the previous summer; the structure of planes is more compact and produces a shallower picture space. The planes, because they are more consistently parallel to the picture plane than before, suggest the flat surfaces of papier collé. Braque’s incorporation of sand into certain areas of his pigment, an innovation of this transitional period, enhances the differentiation of surfaces created by the variations of brushstrokes and increases the subtleties of coloration. The use of sand accords with Braque’s conviction that tactile qualities define space. Despite this emphasis on materiality the image remains evanescent.
On view
Artist | Georges Braque |
Original Title | La Clarinette |
Date | Summer–Fall 1912 |
Medium | Oil with sand on canvas |
Dimensions | 91.4 x 64.5 cm |
Credit line | Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York) |
Accession | 76.2553 PG 7 |
Collection | Peggy Guggenheim Collection |
Type | Painting |
Copy caption
On view
Gastone Novelli
1968
Not on View
Georges Braque
1926
Not on View
Vasily Kandinsky
1929
On view
Mirko Basaldella
1955
Not on View