Jean-Baptiste Robie, Still Life with Meadow Flowers, Oil on Canvas

Description

Jean-Baptiste Robie (1821 Brussels - 1910 ibid.). Still life with meadow flowers. Oil on wood, 24.5 x 18.5 cm (inside … more Jean-Baptiste Robie (1821 Brussels - 1910 ibid.). Still life with meadow flowers. Oil on wood, 24.5 x 18.5 cm (inside measurement), 37 x 31 cm (frame), signed and dated (difficult to read) 'J. Robie 19[\.]' at lower right.



- The beauty of meadow flowers -


About the artwork

This small-format cabinet painting depicts a bouquet of flowers and thus belongs to the still life genre. However, rather than compete with the opulence of the often sumptuous bouquets in fine painting - which the artist was quite capable of doing, as he illustrated in other works - Jean-Baptiste Robie presents a bouquet of grasses and leaves as it might have been picked during a walk in a flower meadow. In order to emphasise the fact that it is taken directly from nature in front of the house, a large leaf is placed behind the vase, its branches, some of which are already broken, protruding from the other side of the vase.

Because of the large number of leaves and the reduced use of colour, the green within the bouquet seems to be an internal background that merges with the green background. The pink flowers in particular stand out against the green, creating a choreography: As the lower flowers droop, they visibly straighten up towards the top. This illustrates the vitality of the plants. It is now clear that Robie is rethinking the subject of the floral still life: he is no longer interested in highlighting the magnificent beauty of the flowers, but in showing their vitality and thus illustrating the inner life force of nature in which their beauty is based. This vitality enlivens the whole bouquet: the leaves are twisted with inner strength and, like the blossoms, seem to stretch out towards the light.

The contrasting play of light bathes the bouquet in a mysterious chiaroscuro, inspired by studies of nature in the open air. Here, light is translated into colour in an impressionist manner, which is particularly evident in the design of the glass vase: The glass becomes a coloured surface that nevertheless captures the reflection of the window, allowing the stems of the flowers and leaves to shine through.



About the artist

Jean-Baptiste Robie was born in Brussels, the son of a blacksmith. He was initially self-taught until, on the advice of his artist friend Théodore Fourmois, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and completed his art studies there. from 1843 to 1875, Robie exhibited at the Brussels Salon, as well as the Paris Salon. He achieved further fame through his descriptions of his travels, which took him as far as India. less