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Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table

spring 1910
Not on view
In their quest to upend tradition in art, Braque and Pablo Picasso remained ironically committed to long-established subjects in the history of European painting: portraiture, the human figure, and still life. Here, Braque’s still life attracts the viewer with fragments of recognizable objects. Within the tonal brushwork of grays, browns, and blacks, we can catch glimpses of the corner of a table, a brass candlestick, and playing cards. The oval format, which dates back to sixteenth-century France, concentrates and compresses the painting’s energy.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table
  • Artist: Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
  • Date: spring 1910
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 25 1/2 × 21 1/4 in. (64.8 × 54 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls Collection, 1997
  • Object Number: 1997.149.12
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

Audio

Cover Image for 1855. Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table

1855. Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table

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