The Clarinet Valse - Georges Braque
Archival giclée
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Description
A classic example of Synthetic Cubism, this 1913 work by Georges Braque uses muted tones and fragmented forms to explore the relationship between music and visual structure.
The Clarinet Valse, painted by Georges Braque in 1913, is a representative example of Synthetic Cubism. During this period, Braque and his contemporary Pablo Picasso moved away from the fragmented, monochromatic analysis of the earlier Analytic phase. Instead, they began to incorporate collage elements, stencilled lettering, and a more decorative approach to the picture plane. This work features an oval format, which was a common choice for Braque at the time, as it allowed him to avoid the traditional corners of a rectangular canvas that often implied a conventional window into space.
The composition is built upon a series of overlapping planes and geometric shapes that suggest the presence of a musical instrument, specifically a clarinet, alongside a sheet of music. The inclusion of the word fragment 'ALSE' provides a direct reference to the title, Valse, while simultaneously serving as a graphic element that anchors the viewer to the surface of the canvas. Braque employs a muted palette of ochres, browns, and greys, which focuses the viewer's attention on the structural arrangement of the objects rather than their naturalistic appearance.
By flattening the pictorial space, Braque forces the eye to navigate the work as a series of signs and symbols. The textures are varied, with some areas appearing smooth and others showing the grain of wood, a technique Braque often used to introduce a tactile quality to his paintings. This piece demonstrates the artist's interest in the relationship between music and visual art, a theme he returned to throughout his career. The work remains a study in how everyday objects can be deconstructed and reassembled to create a new visual language, one that prioritises the autonomy of the painting over the imitation of reality.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
The Clarinet Valse - Georges Braque
Artist Biography
Georges Braque
He grew up in Argenteuil and Le Havre, the son and grandson of house painters. He apprenticed as a decorative painter, learning to imitate wood grain and marble, techniques he later used in his Cubist papiers colles. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and exhibited with the Fauves in 1906, painting bright, loose landscapes influenced by Matisse.
Everything changed when he saw Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907. He went to L'Estaque that summer and painted landscapes that broke the scenery into geometric facets, which is what a critic called 'cubes.' The name stuck. Between 1908 and 1914 he and Picasso worked so closely that their paintings from this period are sometimes difficult to tell apart. They showed each other everything. They finished each other's ideas.
The war separated them. Braque was severely wounded at Carency in 1915: a head injury that left him temporarily blind and required trepanning. He did not paint for over a year. When he returned to work, the collaboration with Picasso was over. They remained on good terms but never worked together again.
His post-war paintings are quieter, more resolved, less competitive. The Studio series, large paintings of the interior of his Normandy studio with birds flying through the space, occupied him through the 1950s. He died in 1963, at eighty-one. Picasso outlived him by ten years.
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