Gris, Juan, << grees, hwahn >> (1887-1927), a Spanish-born painter, made important contributions to the modern style of painting called cubism. The objects in his paintings and collages are more clearly defined and richly colored than those in the works of the earlier cubists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. His attention to the object in his compositions and more typically Spanish hues link his work to the Spanish still-life tradition. Gris once called his work “flat, colored architecture.” His version of cubism became known as synthetic cubism.
Gris was born in Madrid. His real name was Jose Victoriano Gonzalez. He began drawing in 1904 and in 1906 he moved to Paris, where he met Picasso and Braque. Gris was greatly influenced by their styles. The writer Gertrude Stein was among the first to praise his work, and she later helped support him.
