Painting Detail
Still Life with a CoffeepotArtist: Camille Pissarro
Medium: Painting, Oil on canvas, 54.5x65.3 cm
Date: 1900
Genre: Still Life
Source: Formerly in the collection of Otto Krebs, Holzdorf
In the present canvas Pissarro made use of an ornamental background provided by decoratively painted fabric. Against this background is a table spread with a white tablecloth. In the middle of the picture there are several objects associated with each other not only by an artistic principle but by everyday use. The decorative fabrics were fashionable at the turn of the century due to Japanese influence. Another Japanese note is added by the black lacquered tray. The still life is without doubt Pissarro's most decorative painting. The objects have been selected and arranged with great care in order to interact with the patterns on the fabric: the rounded contours of the birds are echoed by the lines of the handles of the milk pitcher, coffeepot and cup. Nevertheless, Pissarro does not at all succumb to stylization. The fashionable fabric combines quite naturally with the coarse, rustic-looking ceramic pitcher, which in turn combines with a porcelain cup.