Still life on a table (apple and glass on a table), pastel on paper attached to cardboard, source of the work: galerie A. gombert, france. private institute in berlin. clarke uhr art collection. Private collection Zurich, Switzerland, Dimensions of the work: 19.4x12.3 cm, signed lower right, the work is from the 1940s, unframed. Undoubtedly the most important work in the sale. In the 1940s, during and after the war, his still lifes and interiors tend to be more contemplative and dense: a restrained and earthy palette, a massive and quiet construction of forms, sometimes emphasized contours and a subtle tension between flatness and volume—a late synthesis of Cubist discoveries within a personal and mature language. Georges Braque (May 13, 1882, Argenteuil – August 31, 1963, Paris) was one of the central artists of French modernism and the founders of Cubism alongside Pablo Picasso. He began with decorative painting and early Fauvism, and was deeply influenced by Paul Cézanne (decomposition of form and viewing from multiple angles), Between 1908 and 1914, he and Picasso developed analytical and synthetic cubism—including the use of collage (papier collé)—as a way to “construct” reality on the surface and to describe space and volume without traditional perspective. Throughout his career, Braque devoted himself especially to still life (tools, fruit, musical instruments, tables, and the studio) as a laboratory of structure, rhythm, materiality, and “tangible space” between viewer and object. Braque won the Grand Prix for painting at the Venice Biennale (1948) and was promoted to the rank of Commandeur in the French Legion of Honor (1951). Alongside historical retrospectives, in recent decades important museum exhibitions have stood out that deepened a new reading of his work: “Georges Braque and the Cubist Still Life, 1928–1945” (Quemper, St. Louis, 25.1–21.4.2013; Phillips Collection, Washington, 8.6–1.9.2013), comprehensive retrospective “Georges Braque: A Retrospective” (Grand Palais, Paris, 18.9.2013–6.1.2014; MFAH Houston, 13.2–11.5.2014; and later also Guggenheim Bilbao, 13.6–21.9.2014), retrospective “Georges Braque. Dance of Shapes” (Bucarius Kunstforum, Hamburg, 10.10.2020–30.4.2021), and broad research exhibitions on Cubism in which his works took center stage, such as “Cubism and the Trompe l'Oeil Tradition” (The Metropolitan, New York, 20.10.2022–22.1.2023); another relevant exhibition planned is “Georges Braque: Tactile Space” (Bruce Museum, 19.12.2025–2.8.2026).