Lemon & Fish

A striking and brilliantly executed mid-century still life rendered in a bold, semi-abstract style, painted in oil onto canvas.

The composition depicts a fish laid across a platter beside a lemon, glass, and bowl: objects arranged within a geometrically fragmented space. The artist has simplified form into planes of colour and texture, transforming everyday objects into rhythmic patterns of line and contrast.

The palette combines muted greys, whites, and earthy browns punctuated by deep blues, black, and sharp accents of red and green. The juxtaposition of the lemon’s acid hue and the fish’s reddish tones creates a visual tension that energises the otherwise subdued background.

The brushwork is layered yet controlled, with areas of smooth paint application set against textured, block-like sections. The interplay of flatness and depth, together with the abstracted cubist influences, lends the work a distinctly modern sensibility: a refined balance between structure and spontaneity that captures the quiet drama of the still life genre.

This oil on canvas is presented in a complementary slim wood frame with an inner white border. There is some scattered craquelure and paint loss on the glass cup but this does not detract from the overall appearance and the painting is otherwise in good condition overall. 

Size: 56 x 72.5 cm (including frame)