Flowers in a Persian Vase

This interestingly coloured still life is by South African artist Alexis Preller and was painted in 1945.  He was one of the most innovative painters of his time, with art critics finding it difficult to describe his exact style.  He painted wondrous almost surreal symbols, objects and images, drawing from a global inspiration, with a lot of 'African mystique' woven into his work.   

Although I have never been particularly fond of his work, I am fascinated by his vast imaginitive capacity and his artistic genius.  The massive 'Discovery'  mural that was commissioned by the Transvaal Provincial Administration at the time, is impressive, to say the least.  It is a complicated, loaded and masterly painted piece 3m high and 13m wide. (Displayed at Javett UP).

This particular still life illustrates a description by Berman perfectly: "..Preller's still life compositions bear testimony to the instinctive sense of perfection in every facet of his art. Every painting serves as an example of the absolute command he had of the medium he worked in, the sound structural composition and perfectly balanced palette he favoured, and his ability to create an overall decoratively pleasing result."

This dramatically coloured 40 x 50cm version of this still life is challenging and has 27 colours.  Each box contains a stretched, printed and numbered canvas, paint, brushes and a page detailing the numbers for an extra reference.

Sources

http://www.javettup.art/exhibitions/101-collecting-conversations-signature-works-of-a-century

http://www.johansborman.co.za/artist-biographies/preller-alexis/