Still Life With Wine Bottle and Lemons 1926

Henri Catargi made this painting, Still Life With Wine Bottle and Lemons, with oil on canvas sometime in the 20th century. What grabs me about it is how the muted palette and soft brushstrokes give such a gentle feeling. You can really see the hand of the artist, you know? The paint isn’t too thick, but you can still make out the little ridges and valleys in the surface. It's almost like Catargi is reminding us that paintings are not windows, they’re made of materials! I'm looking at the folds in the cloth, how they catch the light, and it feels like such an intimate moment, like we’re right there in the studio with him. The painting reminds me of Morandi, both artists reducing the world to its simplest forms, finding beauty in the everyday. Art, like life, is an ongoing conversation. We keep learning from each other, building on what came before, and making something new.