FRUITS (NATURE MORTE, FRUITS)

THIS EXQUISITE STILL-LIFE WAS PAINTED BY DE STAëL TOWARDS THE END OF HIS LIFE AND SHORTLY AFTER HIS MOVE TO ANTIBES. HAVING RECENTLY RETURNED TO FIGURATION, THE WORKS DE STAëL PRODUCED IN ANTIBES BECAME PROGRESSIVELY MORE FLUID, FLEXIBLE AND IMMEDIATE. DILUTING THE OIL WITH TURPENTINE, DE STAëL MAINTAINED AN AMAZING PRECISION AND CONTROL OVER HIS MEDIUM IN A SERIES OF DELICATE BUT INCREASINGLY INTENSE WORKS.

FRUITS (NATURE MORTE, FRUITS) IS A MASTERLY EXAMPLE OF DE STAëL'S CO-ORDINATION OF BRUSHSTROKE, COMPOSITION AND COLOUR TO FORM A SUBTLE BUT COHESIVE UNITY. "I WANT MY PAINTING TO BE LIKE A TREE, LIKE A FOREST", DE STAëL ONCE REMARKED, "ONE MOVES FROM A LINE, FROM A DELICATE STROKE, TO A POINT, TO A PATCH... JUST AS ONE MOVES FROM A TWIG TO A TRUNK OF A TREE. BUT EVERYTHING MUST HOLD TOGETHER, EVERYTHING MUST BE IN PLACE." (NICOLAS DE STAëL CITED IN R. VAN GINDERTAëL, 'NICOLAS DE STAëL 1914-1955', CIMAISE, PARIS, JUNE 1955, NO. 7).

IN THIS PAINTING, DE STAëL DELINEATES THE SHAPE AND VOLUME OF THE FRUIT WITH LIGHT SWEEPS OF THE BRUSH THAT, BLURRED IN PLACES AND SHARP IN OTHERS, IMBUE THE SIMPLE FORMS WITH LIFE. THE PLAY OF COLOUR - STRONGLY EMPHASISED BY THE PASTEL GREY-BLUE BACKGROUND - IS VITAL TO THE OVERALL HARMONY OF THE COMPOSITION.