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Lot Essay
This beautiful early still life was executed in 1930, the year in which Nicholson exhibited in Paris at the Lefevre Gallery for the first time and a period when he was clearly recognised as one of the most prominent young artists of his generation. As with all his still lifes, Nicholson uses simple basic tableware for his subjects (see fig. 1). The earthenware jugs, mugs, cups and plates in the present work, contrast strongly with the elaborate china and crystal still lifes of his father's generation. There is no opulence or excess in this work, instead there is an order and wonderful simplicity to the composition.
The use of muted, earthy colours and the scumbled, textured surface, add to the warmth and domestic feel of the painting. Heralding later still lifes, in which the objects overlap, the mug and the plate in the lower half of the work merge towards each other and are not compartmentalised as are the other objects in the upper half of the composition. We can clearly see also the influence of the Purist movement of the late 1920s, with the objects flattened against a tilted and ordered plane. However, in sharp contrast to the strong colours and crisp lines of Léger and Le Corbusier, Nicholson has devised his own distinctive style with a more textured and muted palette.
The use of muted, earthy colours and the scumbled, textured surface, add to the warmth and domestic feel of the painting. Heralding later still lifes, in which the objects overlap, the mug and the plate in the lower half of the work merge towards each other and are not compartmentalised as are the other objects in the upper half of the composition. We can clearly see also the influence of the Purist movement of the late 1920s, with the objects flattened against a tilted and ordered plane. However, in sharp contrast to the strong colours and crisp lines of Léger and Le Corbusier, Nicholson has devised his own distinctive style with a more textured and muted palette.