Still Life 

Here, Pierre-Auguste Renoir captures a simple scene, perhaps a forgotten moment, with oil on canvas. The teacup, adorned with blue floral motifs, sits beside a spoon and a knife. Consider the floral patterns, echoing across time. In ancient Greece, floral motifs celebrated spring and renewal, adorning vases and temples. These same patterns reappear in Roman frescoes, medieval tapestries, and even Renaissance paintings. The enduring image resurfaces on this teacup, carrying the weight of centuries. The presence of domestic objects, such as the knife and spoon, reminds us of rituals. Tea and coffee drinking became a symbolic gesture of hospitality and community, which can be traced back to similar gestures in antiquity. These floral patterns are not mere decorations; they are echoes of collective memory, a visual language passed down through generations.