Guitar and Jug
- Artist: Georges Braque
- Date: 1927
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 810 x 1165 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
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About this artwork
This is the “Guitar and Jug” by Georges Braque. Painted in 1927, it’s an oil on canvas that shows a guitar, a jug, a glass, a small branch and a pair of apples resting on a piece of fabric. Braque keeps the palette dark, using browns and greys to give the objects a muted, almost introspective mood.
What’s striking is the way he blends fluid lines with a rigid structure. The guitar, slightly turned toward the viewer, suggests harmony, while the fruit and branch hint at nature’s abundance. Braque’s fascination with texture shows through the soft fabric, the gleaming glass, the rough wood of the jug and even a hint of peeling wallpaper in the background.
By this stage, Braque had moved beyond the sharp angles of analytical cubism, embracing a more serene, lyrical approach that still carries the cubist spirit. The painting feels almost tactile, inviting us to feel the smoothness of the guitar’s body and the coolness of the glass.
See it in person
Guitar and Jug is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
