Still Life 1926

Amedee Ozenfant created this still life painting with a muted palette, mostly blacks, whites, and grays, building form through simplified shapes and subtle gradations in tone. I can imagine Ozenfant here, arranging and rearranging these objects, a bottle, some glasses, a carafe, trying to find just the right composition. I feel like the artist is searching for some kind of purity, stripping away all the unnecessary detail to get at the essence of these forms, as if reducing the scene to its bare bones. But the texture of the paint is really important, adding this tangible, handmade quality. It reminds me a little of Juan Gris, but with a more austere, almost architectural sensibility. Painters are always looking at each other's work, riffing on ideas, and pushing things in new directions. Ozenfant’s painting invites us to look closely, to consider the relationships between objects, and to find beauty in simplicity. It's all part of this ongoing conversation that painters have across time.