Seated Harlequin

1910s–1920s

The pupil Picasso “wished away”

Gris regarded Picasso as a teacher, but according to Gertrude Stein in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Picasso treated him with undisguised irritation: Gris was the only person Picasso wished away. At first Gris was spoken of only as Picasso’s follower, but when he became an independent artist and one of the leaders of Cubism, Picasso grew jealous.

1913–1918

From Analytical to Synthetic Cubism

At first Gris painted in the style of Analytical Cubism, a term he himself later coined; after 1913 he converted to Synthetic Cubism, making extensive use of papier collé, or collage, an evolution that ran through 1914–1918. Unlike Picasso and Braque, whose Cubist works were practically monochromatic, he painted in bright harmonious colours in daring, novel combinations, in the manner of his friend Matisse.

1919

His first solo exhibition, in Paris

Gris’s first solo exhibition took place in Paris in 1919.

1919–1920

Critics begin to write about “synthetic” Cubism

In 1919 and particularly 1920, artists and critics began to write conspicuously about this “synthetic” approach and to assert its importance in the overall scheme of advanced Cubism.

1922–1924

Working with Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes

From 1922 to 1924 he worked with Sergei Diaghilev and his ballet company; in 1924 he designed sets and costumes for the Ballets Russes.