gingham mini dress, moccasins, Panama hat, green sweater vest, bohemian style, thrifted style, Shelbee on the Edge

Style Imitating Art: “Still Life with Checked Tablecloth” by Juan Gris

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Terri of MeadowTree Style, and Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as curator, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the curator by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the curator will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join! You are invited to share your images on Instagram or other social media platforms. Just be sure to tag SalazarTerri, and Shelbee or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

The Inspiration Artwork

The inspiration artwork was chosen by Salazar. You can read why she picked this work here.

The Artwork
“Still Life with Checked Tablecloth” by Juan Gris
Still Life with Checked Tablecloth by Juan Gris
Oil and graphite on canvas, 1915
gingham mini dress, moccasins, Panama hat, green sweater vest, bohemian style, thrifted style, Shelbee on the Edge
gingham mini dress, moccasins, Panama hat, green sweater vest, bohemian style, thrifted style, Shelbee on the Edge, Style Imitating Art, Still Life with Checked Tablecloth by Juan Gris
About the Artist: Juan Gris

*Since we featured another Juan Gris painting, The Guitar, for a Style Imitating Art challenge back in November, I am copying and pasting this section directly from that post.

José Victoriano González-Pérez, professionally known as Juan Cris, was a Spanish painter who was born in Madrid on March 23, 1887. He studied mechanical drawing/engineering at the Madrid School of Arts and Sciences from 1902-1904 and contributed drawings to local periodicals during this time. The following year, from 1904-1905, Gris studied painting with the academic artist José Maria Carbonero. In 1905, he officially adopted his professional name of Juan Gris. 

After selling off most of his possessions, Gris moved to Paris in 1906 where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. He began painting seriously in 1910 but he did continue to submit humorous illustrations to various journals and periodicals until 1911. By this time, he had become friends with the most prominent artists of his generation, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Georges Braque. By 1912, he had developed his personal Cubist style becoming “the only Cubist talented enough to make Picasso uncomfortable.”

Gris’s first works were painted in the style of Analytical Cubism, a term he himself would later coin. After 1913, he began his conversion to Synthetic Cubism, which used collage extensively as a way to artistically interpret the subject of the piece. His Cubist peers Picasso and Braque remained practically monochromatic in their paintings while Gris set himself apart by using “bright harmonious colors in daring, novel combinations in the manner of his friend Matisse.”

From late 1916 through 1917, Gris’s works began showing “a greater simplification of geometric structure, a blurring of the distinction between objects and setting, between subject matter and background” which marked the beginning of his Crystal Cubism period. By 1919 and particularly 1920, artists and critics began to assert the importance of Gris’s synthetic approach in the overall scheme of advanced Cubism. In 1924, he expanded his artistic repertoire to include ballet set and costume designs for Sergei Diaghilev and the famous Ballets Russes.

Gris was married to Lucie Belin (1891–1942) and together the couple had one child, Georges Gonzalez-Gris (1909–2003). The family of three resided at the Bateau-Lavoir, 13 Rue Ravignan, Paris, from 1909 to 1911. In 1912, Gris met Charlotte Augusta Fernande Herpin (1894–1983), also known as Josette Gris, and she was living with the family by late 1913 or early 1914 as Juan Gris’s second companion and unofficial wife. The four of them lived together in their Paris home until 1922. By October 1925, Gris suffered frequently from bouts of uremia and cardiac issues. He died in Paris on May 11, 1927, from kidney failure, at the age of 40, leaving behind his wife Lucie, their son Georges, and his companion Josette.

About the Art: “Still Life with Checked Tablecloth”

“Still Life with Checked Tablecloth” is a March 1915 oil painting with graphite on canvas done in Gris’s early Cubist style, similar to “The Guitar” which was painted in 1914. This still life painting depicts a table set with green and brown gingham checked tablecloths, grapes, a bottle of red wine, beer, a newspaper, and a guitar. A composite image of a bull’s head is formed from parts of the various objects which creates a second compelling image in overlaying the still life work. The painting measures 45.9 inches × 35.1 inches (116.5 cm × 89.2 cm) and is currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was purchased by the Met at auction in 2014 for $57.1 million with funds donated by American art collector Leonard Lauder. This sale broke the previous world record price of $28.6 million for a Gris work sold at public auction.

Resources/References:
About My Outfit

When I introduced this painting last week, I couldn’t get my mind off this green gingham shirt and I was certain I would style it for this challenge. But when it came time to get dressed, I really wasn’t vibing with my green gingham shirt at all. But the checked tablecloth in the painting is so prominent that I knew I wanted a big checked pattern to dominate my outfit. So I went for this old black and white gingham mini dress instead and an even older green sweater vest.

To my eye, black, white, green, and orangey-brown dominate the color palette of the painting. With the green, black, and white represented in my dress and sweater, I incorporated the orangey-brown with my felt Panama hat and new-to-me preloved suede moccasins. I have been wanting moccasins exactly like these for a few years but I haven’t wanted to pay full retail for them. I just found these last weekend at my local thrift store for $19.99. They are Minnetonka brand and have very little signs of wear. This style retails for around $125, so I was super excited when I spotted these and they were my size.

They are my thrift shop find of the year and I couldn’t wait to wear them! I love how they completed this outfit, keeping it really true to my bohemian soul.

This is another example of an outfit that I never would have put together if not for a style challenge and I absolutely love it. I will definitely wear this again but probably not until next summer. Fall is definitely making its way here with speed and gusto!

Oh, my jewelry was chosen with purpose and deliberation as well. My gold earrings and brooch on a chain both feature geometric shapes reflective of the Cubist style of the painting. I didn’t take any close up photos and I am too lazy to go do it now so this what you get! But I did remember to include a newspaper as a prop, clever girl that I am.

I do hope you enjoyed my interpretation and feel inspired to play along! Be sure to check out Salazar’s interpretation of the artwork as well as Terri’s take on it. If you would like to participate in this challenge and have your photo included in Salazar’s round up post on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, be sure to email your photos to her by Tuesday, September 12, 2023, by 10:00 p.m. EST. I am excited to see what you all style! 

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Dress-Kohl’s / Sweater-Almost 20 years old / Hat-Wona Trading / Earrings-Gift from a friend / Necklace and Moccasins-Thrifted

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

24 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Shelbee on the Edge