Juan Gris’s ‘La bouteille de Bordeaux’ (1913) represents a pivotal moment in the development of cubism. Incorporating the technique of papier collé, which Gris pioneered alongside Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, the canvas reflects the artist’s decisive shift toward vivid colors and layered geometric planes that move between opacity and transparency. The verso also reveals a rare surviving example of Gris’s mathematically composed preparatory studies. Testament to the foundational importance of this work, it has featured in major retrospectives at the Kunsthaus Zürich; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.

‘I hope to be able to express an imagined reality with great precision using the pure elements of the mind.’