Juan Gris (Spanish, Madrid 1887–1927 Boulogne-sur-Seine), Woman Reading, ca. 1927. Oil and pencil on canvas, 36 1/8 × 28 3/4 in. (91.7 × 73 cm) Framed: 43 × 35 1/2 in. (109.2 × 90.2 cm). Dianne Yanovick Dornquast

The visible underdrawing, with lines radiating out from different focal points, reveals how Gris built his composition from an underlying geometric structure. He then, in his own take on Cubism, added more sensuous elements into the planar construction, such as the oval shape of the upper body and the fluid black lines that define the figure of the reading woman. Gris once expressed his desire to find a more sensitive side in his art, one he associated with the freedom and charm of the unfinished. This work, however, was not intentionally left incomplete. It belongs to a number of paintings that Gris abandoned when his health began to fail, and he probably did not mean for it to be seen or sold. 

This work is exhibited in the "Unfinished: Thoughts Left Invisible" exhibition, on view through September 4th, 2016. #MetBreuer