Blue Vessel & Pears

A charming and characterful mid-century interior still life composition executed in tempera on board and dated 1973, by the established Swedish artist Eric Cederberg (1897-1984), whose artworks have been represented in several public and museum collections across Sweden.

This painting is a delightfully surreal take on the still life tradition, blending bold, simplified forms with quirky, dreamlike elements. The scene is playful, symbolic, and quietly strange—a fusion of everyday objects rendered with unexpected relationships and theatrical lighting.

The central object is a bright turquoise vase, strikingly vivid against the darker tones behind it. Surrounding the vase are five stylised green pears, arranged in a semi-circle, each casting exaggerated shadows. In the background, there’s a small arched window or doorway revealing a surreal landscape of red and ochre mountains under a light sky, creating a window into a different visual world.

The painting has a surrealist influence, reminiscent of artists like Magritte or de Chirico, where ordinary objects are placed in unusual contexts.

Executed in tempera, the work exhibits smooth, matte surfaces with crisp, clean edges. The artist embraces a distinctly modernist, slightly naïve style: simplifying forms, minimising perspective, and emphasising bold, graphic colour fields. The brushwork is controlled and even, lending a refined clarity to each element within the composition.

This tempera on board is presented in a gilt frame that elevates the work with a sense of classical elegance. The artwork is further enhanced by a sage green mount, which beautifully complements the warm tones of the table and pears while making the central blue vase pop even more. The painting is in excellent vintage condition. The mount has marks to its bottom edge, and the frame has some slight wear to its corners but this does not  detract from its overall attractiveness.

Size: 32 x 42 cm (including frame)