Lemon & Literature

A lively and expressive mid-century still life that captures a vibrant table scene where fruit, bottles, and books converge in a symphony of colour and texture, executed in oil onto board.

A blue tablecloth stretches across the foreground, holding a scattering of apples, oranges, and a lemon alongside two dark bottles and a pair of books rendered in bold red and black. The scene glows against a luminous yellow backdrop, infusing the composition with a sense of warmth and vitality.

The artist’s palette is bold and confident: sunny yellows, blues, deep blacks, and accents of warm orange and crimson create a dynamic interplay that brings life to the static composition. The brushwork is expressive and heavily impastoed, with thick, deliberate strokes that lend a tactile energy to the painting. The use of contrasting colours and broad application of paint give the piece a sense of rhythm and immediacy characteristic of mid-century modernist expression.

The painting balances structure and spontaneity beautifully – each object is simplified yet full of presence, and the scene hums with quiet intensity. A wonderful example of post-war European still-life painting, celebrating the everyday through bold colour and painterly confidence.

This oil on board is presented in a complementary gilt frame with red undertones, and an inner white border The painting is in excellent vintage condition, and the frame has scuffing.

Size: 56 x 72.5 cm (including frame)