Still life 1912

This still life was painted by Niko Pirosmani, likely sometime in the early 20th century. I can almost see him working on it, building it up with layers of dark and light. There’s a beautiful simplicity to his palette, mostly earthy tones with that pale blue background, but the shapes are what really grab you. I imagine him stepping back, squinting, adding a touch of yellow to those grapes, or maybe scratching a bit of white into the fish skeleton. Was he thinking about food, about life, about death? Painting’s like that, it’s a way of asking questions without necessarily knowing the answers. This piece reminds me of some of the early modernists, like Cezanne, who were also trying to capture the essence of objects rather than just their surface appearance. But Pirosmani has his own unique vision. You know, it makes you wonder about the conversations happening between artists, even across different times and places. Each one builds on what came before, adding their own voice to the mix.