These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more

DENISE: FIVE IMPORTANT WORKS BY JUAN GRIS 'I work with the elements of the intellect, with the imagination. I try to make concrete that which is abstract. I proceed from the general to the particular, by which I mean that I start with an abstraction in order to arrive at a new fact.’ Juan Gris, quoted in D.-H. Kahnweiler, Juan Gris: His Life and Work, trans. D. Cooper, London, 1969, p. 193. Executed in 1925, during a period in the last few years of Juan Gris’ life which Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler considered the most fruitful of the artist’s career, the following group of five original works on paper was used as the drawings for five lithographs that Gris produced as illustrations for Raymond Radiguet’s Denise, published by Galerie Simon the same year. The print run was limited to 112 copies, all signed by the artist. Gris’ graphic works are not numerous and the artist took up engraving fairly late in his rather short life. Besides this project for Radiguet's Denise, Gris only worked as an illustrator for five other books, specifically Max Jacob's Ne coupez pas Mademoiselle which was published in 1921, Armand Salacrou's Le Casseur d’Assiettes of 1924, Tristan Tzara's Mouchoir de nuages from 1925, and Gertrude Stein's A Book Concluding with As a Wife Has a Cow: A Love Story, completed in 1926. The drawings which Juan Gris executes for such projects are, in most cases, related to paintings created around the same time. If one looks at Juan Gris' oeuvre, it is clear that, when working on paper, the artist executed the majority of his drawings, before 1920, in charcoal; later, he favoured pencil drawings and finally, towards the second half of the 1920s, when the five present works belong, he began to use mainly pen and ink. The five drawings presented here were, from the time of their execution, owned by the Galerie Louise Leiris (previously known as Galerie Simon, from the name of Kahnweiler's partner), before being acquired, nearly three decades ago, by the present owners, who have kept them since.

Juan Gris (1887-1927)

Denise

Details

Juan Gris (1887-1927)
Denise
pen and India ink on paper
9 1/4 x 7 5/8 in. (23.6 x 19.3 cm.)
Executed circa 1925

Provenance

Galerie Louise Leiris, Paris (no. 17010).
Private collection, New York.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1990.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Ottavia Marchitelli

omarchitelli@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2980

Lot Essay

Quentin Laurens, the holder of the Droit Moral, has kindly confirmed that this work is registered in his archives.

More from Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper

View All