This is predominantly an oil painting, though there are elements of mixed media in the sand used to add texture. It is not always easy to spot these additions in a static photograph, but in the bottom right you might be able to see the texture that it provides. Braque used natural elements in his paintings on a number of occasions, as well as using collage techniques with newspapers and even wallpaper. These ideas first appeared fairly early on in the 20th century and were very innovative at the time, so by the point of this painting, in the early 1940s, he would already have felt very comfortable in the application of sand and the like within his work. Braque himself had earlier worked as a fauvist artist before moving in to cubism and so was willing to challenge himself throughout his career. You will find similar paths of the work of artists like Miro and Mondrian too.
If we study the composition, we will see a depiction of a room, with a small table and a variety of other furniture. In the background we can make out the wall furthest from us, but most interest can be found on the table itself. There is an easel with brushes as well as some homewares and a potted plant. The cubist style of depiction means we need a little longer just to decipher the different objects in the scene, though this still remains less abstract than some of his earlier cubist paintings, where almost the entire scene was completely a mystery to most. The artwork is sized at 55 5/8 × 77 in. (141.3 × 195.6 cm), making it particularly large by this artist's standards. It remains in a private collection.
Although a lesser known artwork within his overall oeuvre, some may actually prefer this style of form as compared to the artist's earlier cubist pieces because there is a closer link to reality, whilst still being entirely fresh and modern. It is a re-arrangement of recognisable items, rather than a fractured interpretation where reality is lost completely. There is room for all types of tastes within this artist's career and interest in some of his lesser known works has increased in recent decades.
