Still Life 1929

This ‘Still Life’ looks to have been quickly painted, maybe en plein air. Marsden Hartley has constructed the objects using simple brushstrokes and a pared-down color palette of reds, yellows, greens, and purples. I feel a sense of the artist looking and looking, squinting perhaps, and trying to capture a fleeting moment. Hartley's still life reminds me a little of Cezanne, but looser and more expressive. The red background throbs! The application of paint is very direct, without a lot of fuss, and each of the individual grapes and the apple have a certain, how should I say, heft. The dark lines around the objects define the forms but are also very abstract. They flatten the image while also giving it depth. You can really see how Hartley loved paint and color – and what you get is an enduring image. It's all about the conversation painters have with one another, across time, inspiring and pushing each other to see the world anew.