Coming to Terms

As we continue to delve deeper into the cubist paintings, I’m finding that the hardest part is accepting that I will never know what all of the objects are in Charles-Edouard Jeanneret’s Still life from the Pavilion de l’Espirit Nouveau. When I started looking at the painting I thought that I had picked out the major objects and determined which ones were behind others, and which ones were transparent. The more I look at it, the more I start to question myself. In some cases I think I’m starting to recognize some other objects, and in others I’m just thinking in circles. I want the color changes to be based on steadfast rules that I can name, and really for there to be an answer and not moves based on general possible guidelines.


When starting to look at the space versus the objects, it became apparent how dominant the objects are. They all overlap and the negative space is contained to the very edges. It also shows up in model form where there are so many objects so close together. However, even with just the space or just the objects there are so many possibilities. You can look at the space in terms of the 2D canvas, or in terms of how the objects might be sitting on the table. I think the next thing to consider will be the colors themselves, and if there are any consistencies.