A still life with vegetables 

Constant Permeke created this painting of a still life with vegetables using oil paint. Observe how the composition is structured around the interplay between light and shadow, a dance that animates the mundane. The vegetables, rendered with thick impasto, are not merely depicted, but constructed through the very materiality of the paint. The earth-toned palette, punctuated by the vibrant reds and yellows of the produce, evokes a sense of the rustic. Permeke destabilizes traditional notions of beauty, elevating the ordinary to the extraordinary. The vegetables, typically subjects of sustenance, here become vehicles for exploring texture and form. Permeke challenges the viewer to reconsider their relationship to everyday objects and to find beauty in simplicity. The painting's formal qualities—its rough texture and earthy palette—reflect a broader artistic trend toward abstraction and an interest in the expressive possibilities of paint itself. The artist invites us to contemplate the meaning of representation.