Still life with flowers and fruits Alexej Jawlensky (1864-1941)

The composition presents a still life arrangement centered around floral displays and fruit, set against a backdrop of bold, contrasting colors. Here we see a table draped with a muted green cloth that serves as the foundation for the scene. Upon this surface rests a shallow, silver-toned platter laden with various fruits – predominantly pears and what appear to be apples or peaches – rendered in vibrant hues of red, orange, and green. The forms are simplified, lacking detailed rendering, emphasizing color and shape over realistic representation.
Two vessels hold floral arrangements. To the left stands a tall, cylindrical container decorated with stylized blue and white motifs. It holds a cluster of dark flowers, their form somewhat obscured by shadow. On the right, a blue ceramic pitcher supports a more exuberant arrangement of yellow blossoms, which burst outwards in a dynamic display. The blooms are not depicted botanically accurately; instead, they are suggested through energetic brushstrokes that convey a sense of vitality and movement.
The background is divided into distinct planes of color: a broad swath of red dominates the central area, flanked by vertical panels of green on either side. These blocks of color do not create an illusion of depth but rather flatten the pictorial space, contributing to a decorative quality. The overall effect is one of heightened intensity and artificiality.
The arrangement seems less concerned with conveying naturalism than with exploring the expressive potential of color and form. The fruits, flowers, and vessels are reduced to their essential shapes and painted in an almost arbitrary palette. This suggests a deliberate move away from traditional still life conventions, prioritizing aesthetic impact over faithful representation. There is a sense of playful experimentation evident in the juxtaposition of colors and forms, hinting at a desire to challenge conventional perceptions of beauty and reality. The lack of shadow or subtle tonal variations further reinforces this impression of an artificial, constructed world.