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Dimensions: 86.5 by 75cm., 34 by 29½in.
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Provenance: The family of the artist
Thence by decent to the previous owner
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Notes: In 1910-11 Pavel Kusnetsov began to explore the still life, a genre in which he had previously not shown any interest. The first still lifes have unfortunately not survived and were never reproduced. The most important influence on Kuznetosv's still lifes were those by Matisse in the collection of Sergei Shchukin, which he would have seen on his frequent visits to the collector's house. The power of Kusnetsov's still life lies in his ability to order the formal elements to create a theme. In Still life with a Carafe the objects are united by line and colour to create a decorative surface. Executed in oil, Kusznetsov's preferred medium for still lifes, he paid considerable attention to the surface. Applying seemingly carefree strokes of paint, in places thick and rough, in others almost transparent, he creates a richness of texture and construction, a transfigured vision of the observed world.
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