Description of the picture:
Still life with a basket of apples – Paul Cezanne. 1894. Oil on canvas. 62 x 79 cm
The traditional, at first glance, still life of fruits and simple household items has become a real apotheosis of avant-garde painting. It reflected everything that the painter considered innovative techniques in art. Vivid, expressive, as if vibrating and tearing paints from the canvas, sharp strips of strokes that highlight the shape of objects, but do not make them torn off from the environment, a lot of air and an indescribably vivid memory from the image are the main features of this picture.
The canvas depicts everyday things that could be met in everyday life of any family at that time. This is a dark glass bottle, most likely a wine one, a large basket full of ripe, juicy apples, a white ceramic plate with food, a crumpled tablecloth or a large towel. All this is freely located on the kitchen table made of light wood, against the backdrop of a simple bleached wall.
Apples in a basket attract with their brightness and volume. Side light falls on them, emphasizing the shape and making the colors literally glow against the background of the dark color of the basket. And although they have a completely natural color – yellow, green, red “tanned” barrels, the fruits depicted by the master acquire a special sound. This is the quintessence, the collective image of all ripe apples in the world.
The characteristic style of the artist in this painting is perfectly recognizable even without a signature. Sharp, lively, dynamic strokes, a combination of bright colors and dark contours, the play of color and expressiveness of forms distinguishes this still life from the rest of the master’s works. Glare on the bottle and reflexes from bright colors on the table give it relief and texture, it is immediately clear that it is smooth and shiny glass. The same goes for the rest of the items. They are all painted in large, even sweeping strokes, as if fashioning shapes from paints, but the background wall is written in small, frequent strokes that create color tints.
The image of apples has become a landmark in the work of Cezanne. His paintings are popular and are of interest to lovers and professionals today."