Lot Essay
The majority of Monticelli's still-lives were painted between 1875 and 1885 during which time he enjoyed an intense friendship with Paul Cézanne. Amongst Monticelli's greatest admirers was Vincent van Gogh, who felt a close affinity to Monticelli's handling of colour and paint texture. In a celebrated response to the critic Aurier's praise of him in Mercure de France van Gogh wrote: 'Dear Monsieur Aurier: Many thanks for your article in the Mercure de France, which greatly surprised me. I like it very much as a work of art in itself, in my opinion your words produce colour, in short, I rediscover my canvases in your article, but better than they are, richer, more full of meaning. However, I feel uneasy in my mind when I reflect that what you say is due to others than to myself. For example, Monticelli in particular. Saying as you do: "As far as I know, he is the only painter to perceive the chromatism of things with such intensity, with such a metallic, gem-like lustre," be so kind as to go and see a certain bouquet by Monticelli at my brother's - then you will see what I want to say.' (Mercure de France, January 1890)
This 'gem-like lustre' is a very strong feature of the present painting. It is achieved by those techniques which van Gogh most admired in Monticelli's work: attention to brushstroke, paint texture and what Gauguin termed 'the accidents of colour', by which he meant the effect that one colour has on another when it is placed beside it or dragged across it. An added feature of the painting is Monticelli's masterly use of the panel on which the oil is applied: like Vuillard, Monticelli was not afraid to leave extensive areas of his board bare to provide a contrasting surface and background colour to large sections of his paintings.
Van Gogh's admiration for Monticelli's work survived the turmoil of his final years. He strongly recommended his work to Gauguin, helped to publish a monograph with Boussod & Valadon in 1890, frequently referred to his debt to Monticelli in his letters and was himself the owner of several works by the artist including a fine still life of flowers now in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh (S. Stammegna, Catalogue des Oeuvres de Monticelli, Vence, 1981, no. 406, illustrated).
A propos the history of the current picture it is interesting to note van Gogh's further comment to Monsieur Aurier that 'The best, the most amazing Monticellis have long been in Scotland and England'. Amongst the most notable pieces in this country are two fine still-lifes in the National Gallery of which the Nature Morte aux Fruits (S. Stammegna, op. cit., no. 427) is very similar in composition to the present painting.
The dealer mainly responsible for bringing Monticelli's work to England and Scotland was Alexander Reid, a Glaswegian dealer who had been a close friend of the van Gogh brothers in Paris. For twenty years from 1889 Reid bought the finest pieces directly from Delarebeyrette, Monticelli's dealer in Marseille, and brought them across the Channel for sale in Britian. Amongst the most celebrated admirers and buyers of Monticellis were Oscar Wilde and George and William Burrell, the celebrated Glaswegian collectors.
Aside from museum collections in this country Monticelli's still-lives are housed in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Lyon, the Rijksmuseum van Gogh, Amsterdam and the Musée d'Orsai in Paris which owns the sister-piece to the current painting (S. Stammegna, no. 425)
This 'gem-like lustre' is a very strong feature of the present painting. It is achieved by those techniques which van Gogh most admired in Monticelli's work: attention to brushstroke, paint texture and what Gauguin termed 'the accidents of colour', by which he meant the effect that one colour has on another when it is placed beside it or dragged across it. An added feature of the painting is Monticelli's masterly use of the panel on which the oil is applied: like Vuillard, Monticelli was not afraid to leave extensive areas of his board bare to provide a contrasting surface and background colour to large sections of his paintings.
Van Gogh's admiration for Monticelli's work survived the turmoil of his final years. He strongly recommended his work to Gauguin, helped to publish a monograph with Boussod & Valadon in 1890, frequently referred to his debt to Monticelli in his letters and was himself the owner of several works by the artist including a fine still life of flowers now in the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh (S. Stammegna, Catalogue des Oeuvres de Monticelli, Vence, 1981, no. 406, illustrated).
A propos the history of the current picture it is interesting to note van Gogh's further comment to Monsieur Aurier that 'The best, the most amazing Monticellis have long been in Scotland and England'. Amongst the most notable pieces in this country are two fine still-lifes in the National Gallery of which the Nature Morte aux Fruits (S. Stammegna, op. cit., no. 427) is very similar in composition to the present painting.
The dealer mainly responsible for bringing Monticelli's work to England and Scotland was Alexander Reid, a Glaswegian dealer who had been a close friend of the van Gogh brothers in Paris. For twenty years from 1889 Reid bought the finest pieces directly from Delarebeyrette, Monticelli's dealer in Marseille, and brought them across the Channel for sale in Britian. Amongst the most celebrated admirers and buyers of Monticellis were Oscar Wilde and George and William Burrell, the celebrated Glaswegian collectors.
Aside from museum collections in this country Monticelli's still-lives are housed in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Lyon, the Rijksmuseum van Gogh, Amsterdam and the Musée d'Orsai in Paris which owns the sister-piece to the current painting (S. Stammegna, no. 425)