Still Life with Lemons 1913 - 1914

Maurice de Vlaminck made this still life with lemons using oil on canvas; a pretty standard set up, but look how he makes it zing! The paint has a wonderful thickness, like buttercream frosting, and it's really something to see how he models the forms with these bold daubs and strokes. Take, for example, the way he renders the pitcher, he doesn’t fuss over the details but instead uses these thick strokes of black and grey to capture its essence. I love how the background is broken up into these planes of color, like a cubist collage. It gives the piece a sense of depth and movement. Vlaminck was part of the Fauvist movement, which favored intense color and expressive brushwork. I'm reminded of Derain, another Fauvist, who also painted still lifes with a similar sense of freedom and abandon. And isn't that what painting is all about? It’s about embracing the messy, imperfect, and unpredictable nature of the process.