Lot Essay
La Table de Cuisine au Gril was described by Douglas Cooper as "one of the two or three most original, most successful and most memorable pictures which Braque painted during the war years" (D. Cooper, Braque, the Great Years, op. cit. p. 82). This celebrated picture has been very widely exhibited since it was first shown at Galerie Maeght in 1947.
Braque returned to Paris in 1940 and remained there throughout the war. Finding it difficult to work during the occupation he painted relatively few pictures during the war years. In the main he painted still-lifes, and his subject-matter was related almost exclusively to food and everyday household objects. "There is no symbolism in this, it merely expresses the artist's view on the preoccupations of a city in war-time and his preference for a sombre palette in these works, reflected the austere life of the time." (ibid.).
Braque's still lives of the period are full of strong colour contrasts, rich contrasts in texture and a complexity of composition developed out of his experiments with cubism: "without having striven for it, I do in fact end by changing the meaning of objects and giving them a pictorial significance which is adequate to their new life. When I paint a vase, it is not with the intention of painting a utensil capable of holding water. It is for quite other reasons. Objects are recreated for a new purpose: in this case, that of playing a part in a picture...Objects always adapt themselves easily to any demands one may make upon them. Is it not the poet's role in life to provoke continual transformations of this sort on everything around us? Once an object has been integrated into a picture, it accepts a new density and at the same time becomes universal. If it remains an individual object this must be due to lack of improvisation or imagination. As they give up their habitual function, so objects acquire a human harmony. Then they become united by the relationships which sprung up between them, and more important between them and the picture and ultimately myself." (ibid., p. 111).
In La Table de Cuisine au Gril the table anchors the picture and our attention is focused on the cluttered central area, where objects are arranged successively one above the other. The shapes of the objects are simplified and, although distinct, appear quite flattened. Even in the preparatory sketch for the drawing (fig. 1) the items are practically drawn on top of each other and seem almost transparent. However, in the finished painting the objects are enlivened by bold impasto and broad brushstrokes which are another constant in Braque's work of these years. The background is coloured in differing shades of ochre and brown which gives the composition considerable depth. This also acts as a contrast for the grey of the table and the kitchen utensils which rest upon it. The white of the plate and tabletop further enhance these objects, and the flashes of white down the vertical plane, and curving around the outline of the plate focus the composition. As is characteristic of Braque, sharp angles and straight lines are combined with curving forms in a harmonious and subtly rhythmic composition. Les Toilette aux Carreaux vertes in the Phillips Collection in Washington is a comparable work from this time, with its striking vertical axis, muted tones, and flattened imagery.
In these early still-lifes we can possibly see the genesis of the masterly Atelier series, which Braque undertook in 1949. Braque was constantly attempting to resolve the problems of depicting interior space and the situation of objects in space, hence his interest in painting interiors and still-lifes. The Atelier series can be seen as the culmination of Braque's endeavours. They focus on his Paris studio, and in the earlier works, notably Atelier I, one can see a definite link with still-lifes such as La Table de Cuisine au Gril.
Atelier I is still relatively simplistic with a clear, upright format. Rectangles are multiplied within the picture plane confronting each other and crowding the painting. The subdued tones of the Atelier series are reminiscent of La Table de Cuisine au Gril enabling Braque to commence his exploration of spatial elements without the tempting distraction of colour. There is a further link between the works in the sense that with the Ateliers one is offered a vision of the painter's professional universe in microcosm, whilst La Table de Cuisine au Gril represents a summation of his wartime experience. Thus La Table de Cuisine stands before us as a powerful evocation of the artist's lifestyle during the Occupation as well as representing a mature stage in his quest to reproduce and recreate concepts of space and form.
Braque returned to Paris in 1940 and remained there throughout the war. Finding it difficult to work during the occupation he painted relatively few pictures during the war years. In the main he painted still-lifes, and his subject-matter was related almost exclusively to food and everyday household objects. "There is no symbolism in this, it merely expresses the artist's view on the preoccupations of a city in war-time and his preference for a sombre palette in these works, reflected the austere life of the time." (ibid.).
Braque's still lives of the period are full of strong colour contrasts, rich contrasts in texture and a complexity of composition developed out of his experiments with cubism: "without having striven for it, I do in fact end by changing the meaning of objects and giving them a pictorial significance which is adequate to their new life. When I paint a vase, it is not with the intention of painting a utensil capable of holding water. It is for quite other reasons. Objects are recreated for a new purpose: in this case, that of playing a part in a picture...Objects always adapt themselves easily to any demands one may make upon them. Is it not the poet's role in life to provoke continual transformations of this sort on everything around us? Once an object has been integrated into a picture, it accepts a new density and at the same time becomes universal. If it remains an individual object this must be due to lack of improvisation or imagination. As they give up their habitual function, so objects acquire a human harmony. Then they become united by the relationships which sprung up between them, and more important between them and the picture and ultimately myself." (ibid., p. 111).
In La Table de Cuisine au Gril the table anchors the picture and our attention is focused on the cluttered central area, where objects are arranged successively one above the other. The shapes of the objects are simplified and, although distinct, appear quite flattened. Even in the preparatory sketch for the drawing (fig. 1) the items are practically drawn on top of each other and seem almost transparent. However, in the finished painting the objects are enlivened by bold impasto and broad brushstrokes which are another constant in Braque's work of these years. The background is coloured in differing shades of ochre and brown which gives the composition considerable depth. This also acts as a contrast for the grey of the table and the kitchen utensils which rest upon it. The white of the plate and tabletop further enhance these objects, and the flashes of white down the vertical plane, and curving around the outline of the plate focus the composition. As is characteristic of Braque, sharp angles and straight lines are combined with curving forms in a harmonious and subtly rhythmic composition. Les Toilette aux Carreaux vertes in the Phillips Collection in Washington is a comparable work from this time, with its striking vertical axis, muted tones, and flattened imagery.
In these early still-lifes we can possibly see the genesis of the masterly Atelier series, which Braque undertook in 1949. Braque was constantly attempting to resolve the problems of depicting interior space and the situation of objects in space, hence his interest in painting interiors and still-lifes. The Atelier series can be seen as the culmination of Braque's endeavours. They focus on his Paris studio, and in the earlier works, notably Atelier I, one can see a definite link with still-lifes such as La Table de Cuisine au Gril.
Atelier I is still relatively simplistic with a clear, upright format. Rectangles are multiplied within the picture plane confronting each other and crowding the painting. The subdued tones of the Atelier series are reminiscent of La Table de Cuisine au Gril enabling Braque to commence his exploration of spatial elements without the tempting distraction of colour. There is a further link between the works in the sense that with the Ateliers one is offered a vision of the painter's professional universe in microcosm, whilst La Table de Cuisine au Gril represents a summation of his wartime experience. Thus La Table de Cuisine stands before us as a powerful evocation of the artist's lifestyle during the Occupation as well as representing a mature stage in his quest to reproduce and recreate concepts of space and form.