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Mandolin and Fruit Dish

Paris, early 1909
Not on view
This painting is one of the first Cubist works by Braque to feature a musical instrument. His inclusion of food and drink recalls the tradition of allegorical still lifes that represent the five senses. Braque’s tabletop display includes a glass with two straws, a mandolin, a compote with two pears, a lemon, and an open book or, more likely, pages of sheet music with staves (lines) for musical notation. The center of the composition is luminous and pale, possibly to indicate a ray of bright light washing over the studio ensemble.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mandolin and Fruit Dish
  • Artist: Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
  • Date: Paris, early 1909
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 15 1/8 × 18 1/8 in. (38.4 × 46 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.12
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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