In this Synthetic Cubist work, Picasso transforms the genre of still life by constructing a unified composition from abstracted fragments of objects. Among traditional still life elements that can be deciphered are the fret, knobs, and strings of a guitar, the compote with grapes, and the legs and wood grain surface of a table. From the more conventional renderings Picasso made during the same summer vacation on the Riviera, we know that the setting of this painting is a balcony opened onto the sea on a slightly grey day; the water's surface is suggested by the undulating lines that alternate with ideograms evoking crests of waves and seagulls.