Juan Gris was born in Madrid, Spain. He studied mechanical drawing in Madrid from 1902-04, during which time he contributed paintings to local periodicals. From 1904-05 he studied painting with the academic artist Jose Maria Carbonero. In 1906 he moved to Paris, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. Gris began to paint seriously in 1910. By 1912 he had developed a personal Cubist style. He became a good friend of Henri Matisse. His best works were painted between 1914-17. Ironically these were the years, as we know from his letters, of his greatest privations. In 1915 he began to simplify his compositions, aiming for structural clarity and monumentality in the still-lifes he painted with devotion.