Cubist Table Arrangement

A calm and intriguing mid-century modernist still life painting that presents a carefully balanced arrangement of everyday forms – a loaf of bread, a ceramic vessel, a handled bowl of green fruit, and a series of stacked geometric planes, executed in oil onto canvas and dated 1957.

The composition is constructed through overlapping blocks and angular shapes, creating an architectural sense of structure while still retaining the warmth and familiarity of a domestic tabletop scene.

Executed in a distinctly modernist style with Cubist influences, the work simplifies objects into flattened forms and intersecting planes, allowing colour and composition to take precedence over realism. The arrangement feels both orderly and dynamic, with strong verticals contrasting against the softer curves of the fruit bowl and pink vessel.

The palette is restrained and harmonious, featuring warm creams, dusty pinks, olive greens, muted browns, and soft greys. These earthy tones give the painting a calm, contemplative atmosphere while the brighter green fruit introduces a gentle focal point within the composition.

Brushwork is soft yet deliberate, with layered painterly surfaces and subtle tonal blending throughout the background. The geometric objects are rendered with firmer edges and controlled application of paint, while lighter, feathered strokes in the surrounding space lend the work an airy softness and understated depth.

This oil on canvas is presented in a complementary slim wood frame. Both the painting and frame are in excellent vintage condition.

Size: 48 x 40 cm (including frame)