Vase D’anémones Sur Fond Bleu 1912

Henri Lebasque made this still life with oil on canvas, with these gorgeous anemones on a blue background. I think the best thing about this is its sense of process, you can really see the way the painting was put together. I love the way Lebasque applied the paint, it’s not too thick but it’s not hidden either, you can see all the brushstrokes, each with its own mark. Look at that intense blue background, and how the strokes are all in one direction, like the drape of a cloth. It gives the painting a real physical presence, like you could reach out and touch it. But then there's a contrasting little, almost incidental stem and flower detail to the right, which is full of warm reds and browns. What’s that all about? I guess it's about the whole thing needing something a bit discordant to give it a little life. It makes me think of Pierre Bonnard, another painter who made the ordinary look extraordinary, through colour and a sense of everyday life. It reminds you that art is an ongoing conversation, each artist bringing something new to the table, yet still connected to those who came before.