Houses in Paris, Place Ravignan

This study for an oil painting of the same title (Houses in Paris, Place Ravignan (1911 or 1912, The Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection) shows how precisely Gris mapped out his composition, from the prominent diagonal axis to the areas of white highlight. The setting is the place Ravignan in Paris, the site of Gris’s studio. Fernande Olivier recalled that the "little square is shaded by four trees and surrounded by four buildings with four streets leading into it. It’s like the heart of a primitive cross. . . . There are two nice old painted wood benches, though the paint is peeling off them, and in summer it’s pleasant to sit here and collect your thoughts. . . . In winter . . . it’s as slippery as an ice rink and the square is deserted."