In this vertical, still-life painting, a stove-top coffee maker stands on a table beside a cup and saucer. The objects are painted in grisaille, a somber grey monochrome, as is the table, but the background is a dark mahogany color. The coffee pot, composed of flat surfaces and sharp angles, stands on our left with its C-shaped handle near the edge of the canvas. The lid of the pot is diamond-shaped and has a round ball on top, while the spout is long and erect, with its sharp tip pointing toward the upper right hand corner. Beneath the spout sits the cup and saucer, which are round and curvy; almost plump in comparison. The top of the cup has been flattened into a full circle that faces us, and is marked by a vertical seam that runs down the center. The piece is rendered with thick oil paints and discernible brushstrokes that reinforce the tall, angular nature of the coffee maker, and the rotund curves of the cup and saucer.

Pablo Picasso
Nature morte "la cafetière" (Still Life "The Coffee Pot"), 1944

Artwork Info

Artwork title: Nature morte "la cafetière" (Still Life "The Coffee Pot")
Artist name: Pablo Picasso
Date created: 1944
Classification: painting
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 21 3/4 in. x 17 3/8 in. (55.25 cm x 44.13 cm)

Date Acquired: 1991
Credit: Collection SFMOMA
Bequest of Elise S. Haas
Copyright: © Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Permanent URL: https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/91.177
Artwork Status: On view on floor 2 as part of Open Ended: Painting and Sculpture, 1900 to Now.

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