The Bottle of Anís del Mono

Painted in 1914 by Juan Gris, this Cubist still life takes as its subject a bottle of Anís del Mono, the well-known Spanish anise liqueur. Rather than simply depicting the object, the picture breaks it into overlapping geometric planes and reassembles it, so that the label, neck and shoulder of the bottle appear seen from several viewpoints at once, a central concern of Cubism. The palette is restrained, with earthy tones and ochres, and the graphite pencil combined with oil on canvas helps define lines and suggest contours without fully closing the forms. The most distinctive feature is the lettering painted across the surface: the names Badalona, Madrid and Paris. These cities are tied to key figures of the movement, namely Gris himself, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, so the work also works as a tribute to the artists who were shaping the new painting. It is now held at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.

Painter

Juan Gris

Date

1914

Medium

oil paint, canvas, graphite pencil

Dimensions

42 × 24 cm

Museum

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

Movement

cubism

Genre

still life

Depicts

Spanish anise-flavored liqueur

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