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Still Life with Coffee Pot

Still Life with Coffee Pot

Artist: Roger de La Fresnaye (French, 1885-1925)
Date: about 1910-1911
Dimensions:
H: 21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm); W: 32 in. (81.2 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1951.380
Label Text:Born into an aristocratic French family, Roger de la Fresnaye had extensive artistic training in French academies such as the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts), but was drawn to Cubism as it developed in Paris (see Picasso’s Woman in a Black Hat in this gallery).

Still Life with Coffee Pot is one of a small group of still life paintings that La Fresnaye worked on around 1911, when he was evolving a personal style based on Cubism. Here he depicted simple, commonplace objects that allowed him to concentrate on the shape of their forms and their situation in space. He also heightened the contrast in lighting and played up textures. Particularly of note are the short, well-defined brushstrokes that highlight the left edges of the apple and pear. By bringing out this feature, La Fresnaye draws attention to the way we see the fruit rest upon the platter.
Not on view
In Collection(s)