Henri Rousseau, Lot n° 666

NATURE MORTE AUX VERRES ET AUX FAIENCES Oil on wood. 30,5 x 50 cm. Monogrammed "H.R." at lower left. On verso on the frame sticker with the inscription "George Economou Art Collection" with artist's name and collection number "793". The authenticity confirmed by an expertise of Maximilien Gauthier, M. M. Pierre Courthion and Sonia Delaunay. Rousseau, who as an autodidact soon assumed a special position in classical modernism and invented his own style, later handed down by other artists, has also reproduced objects in this still life with compact physicality and clear lines. Still life with citrus fruits between carafe with wine glasses and porcelain dishes with cups. The objects are arranged in two groups: on the left a glass carafe or crystal carafe with a spherical stopper surrounded by eight glasses, on the right a coffee pot next to a spherical lidded vessel, these two main objects also surrounded by four cups. In between and on the left in front of the glasses two oranges and two lemons. The background in the upper part is medium to dark blue, in the lower part it represents a tabletop. Despite all the supposed naivety, a hidden activity can be seen in this representation, as if the crystal and procelain groups were facing each other as adversaries. It was precisely in this way that the painter contrasted the rural, plainly striped tableware with the refined upper-class crystal. This impression is reinforced by the animal-like red feet of the porcelain tableware, the aggressively threatening beak of the jug and the red colour in the handles. Almost in need of protection, the finer glasses stand behind a bulwark formed by the fruits. This alone shows that Rousseau, in his supposedly "naive art", plays out these often very cryptic thoughts. In a certain sense, this is also an aspect that was later adopted by Surrealism, of which he is ultimately regarded as the pioneer. A.R. Provenance: Hotel Rame