Still Life

About the Artwork

The Spanish artist María Blanchard worked in Paris as a Cubist between 1916 and 1919. In Still Life, she portrayed multiple, simultaneous viewpoints in an abstract style based on geometry and flat planes. Although other Cubists used collage elements in their work, Blanchard was unique in her use of three-dimensional elements to create an image that fluctuates between the concrete and the illusionary. During her lifetime, Blanchard was celebrated by her fellow Cubists, and she shared studios with Juan Gris and Diego Riviera, the latter of whom described her as producing Cubism’s “finest works, apart from our master, Picasso.”

Inscriptions

signed lower center M. BLANCHARD; signed verso: M Gutiérrez Blanchard

Provenance

?-1938: R.E.A. Wilson, United Kingdom February 1938: Acquired by the grandfather of previous owner from the above through the intermediation of Alfred Willey 2026: (Ben Elwes Fine Art, London) 2026: Cleveland Museum of Art

Quick Overview

Artist: María Blanchard (Spanish, 1881–1932)
Date: c. 1916
Medium: oil, sand, and mixed media collage on canvas
Dimensions: 65.8 x 52.4 cm (25 7/8 x 20 5/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Partial purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund and partial gift of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Saltzman, by exchange
Accession no.: 2026.37

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.