Le Saltimbanque

Studio of Miguel Canals (Spanish, 1925‑1995) — After Juan Gris

An exceptional, large-scale Cubist composition of a Pierrot with guitar, executed in the Barcelona studio of Miguel Canals after Juan Gris. It is faithful to the spirit of Gris's celebrated Pierrot and Harlequin paintings of the early 1920s: bold geometric planes, the melancholy, mask-like face and an elegantly muted palette of sage green, warm ochre, soft grey and deep black. A mature craquelured surface gives the canvas strong period presence. It is one of the larger and more ambitious works to come from the studio.

Bonhams London, The Contents of a Belgravia Residence, 23 September 2002, lot 492, where acquired by the present owner.

Works from the Studio of Miguel Canals appear regularly at international auction, including Bonhams and Dominic Winter, and are valued for their fidelity to the European modern masters. Most examples are smaller in scale or simpler in composition. The present work stands out for its size, its ambitious figural subject after Gris, its documented Bonhams provenance and its studio-stamped stretcher.