This a still life painting by an artist called Paul Cezanne, he was an impressionist painter born in 1839. Throughout his life, he painted several different subjects including portraiture, landscape, figural scenes and still life. I chose this painting because the artist has taken objects to create a still life painting. Cezanne was drawn mostly to fruit within his paintings, he would also paint fresh fruit and he admired the journey that a piece of fruit would go through; from it being a seed in the soil to the rain that made them grow. This painting is oil on canvas, within this composition we can see a kitchen table with a cloth on it. There are also some pears gathered on the table with a skull head sitting above the table cloth. The background of this painting is very dark and misty, it also looks like there could be some plants in the background. I think this painting is interesting because the dark background also gives off a sinister mood to the painting whereas the skull being placed next to the fruits shows the contrast between life and death. Furthermore, it also could imply the message that life is fleeting and that when someone dies other peoples lives are still going on hence why the fresh fruit is placed next to the skull. It was common for skulls to be shown in European still life paintings it was a reminder that life is fleeting. Cezanne didn't usually include skulls within his still life paintings however, during his last decade of his life he began to include more skulls within his work. Perhaps this could have reflected the mortality of his own life (Barnes, 2022). I believe I can relate to this painting because it shows the duality between life and death which is a natural aspect of life.
Tony Cragg is a British sculptor who was born in 1949, most of his artworks are contemporary and modern. Cragg tends to use manmade objects within his work because he believes that they are "fossilised keys to a past time which is our present" (Gallery L,2022). His work aims to provoke an emotion within the viewer. This sculpture is called eroded landscape, in this photo we can see glass shelves stacked with cups, vases, bottles and other round looking objects. They are all quite pastel in colour and the objects are very closely placed together. It is also placed in a building in front of white walls and a window. The objects in this photo remind me of Greek god sculptures, i believe this is because of the colour. One of the things i like about this sculpture is the harmonious composition, most of the objects are very similar in shape and in colour. Furthermore, i think it also compliments the space around it including the white walls and the window. I think this sculpture is an interesting piece of art work as it does reflect the imagery of glass being eroded, it has environmental connotations because erosion usually happens within the sea.
References
Barnes (2022) Paul Cézanne Still Life with Skull (Nature morte au crâne), Barnes Collection Online - Paul Cézanne: Still Life with Skull (Nature Morte au crâne). Available at: https://collection.barnesfoundation.org/objects/4712/Still-Life-with-Skull-(Nature-morte-au-crane)/ (Accessed: November 26, 2022).
Gallery, L. (2022) Tony Cragg, Lisson Gallery. Available at: https://www.lissongallery.com/artists/tony-cragg (Accessed: November 28, 2022).
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