Still life with a jar 1958

Hryhorii Havrylenko made this painting of a still life with a jar with paint, probably some time in the mid 20th century. He’s using a limited palette, mostly reds, yellows, blues and browns, but gets so much juice out of it, right? Look at how the dark, thick outlines create these little jewel-like segments of color. The paint isn’t too thick, but you can still feel the hand of the artist moving around the canvas, deciding what to leave in, and what to leave out. I am drawn to the way the artist has painted the jar in contrasting colors. Check out the squiggly lines and circles and the mix of red, yellow and green, all held in place by that bold outline, giving a sense of controlled chaos. There’s a folk art quality here, reminds me a little bit of Milton Avery, but also, maybe someone like Alfred Wallis. The painting is about an attitude and a way of seeing, rather than a literal representation of objects. It’s like he’s saying, “Here’s my world, take it or leave it.”