Series - Lemons in Art
André Derain, "Still Life with Blue Pot", 1904.
Edouard Manet, "The Lemon", 1880.Simple, beautiful, effective, historic! Manet uses a very photographic framing here, inspired by the new process. His gaze lingers on a detail, highlights it in a close-up, personalizes it. The painter isolates a lemon just as he did an asparagus, as if to convey character and individuality. The fruit and vegetable seem to be self-sufficient. Here, a poetic realism emerges under the artist's thick and frank brushstroke.
Henri Matisse, "Still Life with Lemon", 1917.
The use of black is typical of this period for Matisse. To journalist Ragnar Hoppe, who interviewed him in 1919, Matisse explained: "I have never been as aware as recently of the beauty of black color, of all that it can offer, both as a contrast and in itself."
From a color perspective, this Still Life with Lemon is also a reference to Edouard Manet, whom Matisse always admired. Matisse was fascinated by the definitive character of Manet's brushwork: "the application of color in a single operation, without retouching."
Giovanna Garzoni, "Still Life with a Plate of Lemons", circa 1640. Italian Baroque. In painting, the lemon appeared during the Renaissance, but only as a precious ornament; it was so rare that its price was prohibitive. Roman Emperor Diocletian had already set its price at twelve times that of a melon!
Francisco de Zurbarán, circa 1650.
The salvific lemon "Still Life with Lemon and Cut Glass", Maria Margaretha van Os, 1823 - 1826
Attention, masterpiece!
"The Flowerpot and the Lemon" painted in 1916 by Joan Miró. Both Cubist and Fauvist, one can suspect in this painting Miró's so-called abstract compositions…
"The Flowerpot and the Lemon" painted in 1916 by Joan Miró. Both Cubist and Fauvist, one can suspect in this painting Miró's so-called abstract compositions…
Tea with Georges Braque, "Teapot and Lemons", Lithograph from 1949.
Francis Picabia, "Lemons", 1922. My favorite artist, not as a painter or anything, but the character is fantastic. A man of wit!
Henri Matisse, "Lemons and Saxifrages", 1943
Pierre Bonnard, "Still Life with Lemons", 1918.
Bonnard, one might think that his strength lies in colors, yes, of course, but what about the composition, the balance created with verticals, the light and dark masses that disrupt perspective.
Here, no element takes precedence over another; our gaze is forced to scan the entire canvas. It goes right, drawn by the lines formed by a chair back, but they only echo the horizontal window edge. The pattern of the tablecloth mirrors the greenery, and there is this bowl of lemons that seems suspended between all these elements. I can spend hours wandering through a work like this.
Bonnard, one might think that his strength lies in colors, yes, of course, but what about the composition, the balance created with verticals, the light and dark masses that disrupt perspective.
Here, no element takes precedence over another; our gaze is forced to scan the entire canvas. It goes right, drawn by the lines formed by a chair back, but they only echo the horizontal window edge. The pattern of the tablecloth mirrors the greenery, and there is this bowl of lemons that seems suspended between all these elements. I can spend hours wandering through a work like this.
Vincent Van Gogh, "Still Life with Lemons", 1887.
Phew, what a marvel, it's dizzying! Everything seems balanced; the lemons are ready to tumble towards us.
Phew, what a marvel, it's dizzying! Everything seems balanced; the lemons are ready to tumble towards us.
Roy Lichtenstein, "Still Life with Lemon and Glass", 1974.
"Still Life with Lemon", Laurencin Marie 1919
Matisse, 1919. Undoubtedly, Henri Matisse, originally from the North, born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, was amazed to discover the French Riviera and its beauties, the flowers, the mimosas and the sublime lemons.
Henri Matisse. "Lemons on a Pink Background", 1943.
Maurice de Vlaminck, (1876-1958), "Still Life with Lemons". Lithograph in 15 colors after an original drawing by Maurice de Vlaminck. Limited edition of 2000 copies. Published in August 1958 with the artist's permission. Signed in the plate. Printed by the Mourlot workshops.
Claude Monet, "Branch of Lemons", 1883
"Lemon Squash" by the whimsical Yayoi Kusama, 1992.
David Salle, "The Lemon Twig", 2002.
Pablo Picasso, "The Lemon" 1925.
Marie Laurencin 1939
Oh my, it's mind-boggling, I don't know what moves me more: the composition, the brushstrokes, the history in my memory, the subject evoking my South, the richness of the colors?
In any case, this "Still Life with Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves" by Vincent van Gogh, painted in 1889, is an absolute delight.
In any case, this "Still Life with Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves" by Vincent van Gogh, painted in 1889, is an absolute delight.
For my "Lemons" series, a little gem by Georges Braque, "Still Life with Lemons", 1929.
What is incredible about this work is that Braque seems to have had fun condensing and synthesizing the history of art.
First, the subject – what could be more classic than a still life?
The background – Braque reuses motifs dear to the Nabis, particularly those explored by Vuillard.
The tabletop evokes Cézanne's apples that do not fall from the table, which nevertheless appears vertical to us.
The elements with angular contours recall Cubism.
"If we consider that the battle of Cubism was fought over the theme of still life, Braque was the best prepared, or rather he was able, by consolidating each step of its evolution, to more surely reach this 'sufficient sign' as Matisse called it." Bernard Zurcher in "Braque vie et œuvre"
Henri Matisse, "Interior in Yellow and Blue", 1946.
For a little smile, this painting by Samuel Hung, "Imposters - Lemon Duck & Real Lemon", 2018. Yes, it is indeed a painting...
More works coming soon
The book La Saga Maeght by Yoyo Maeght, with dedication. Link here
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