3030 - CUNO AMIET

CUNO AMIET (Solothurn 1868–1961 Oschwand) Still Life with a Bowl, Apples, and a Jug. Circa 1907. Oil on board. 35.5 × 42 cm. Provenance: Private collection, Switzerland. Literature: Franz Müller and Viola Radlach: Online catalogue raisonné “Cuno Amiet. Die Gemälde 1883–1961,” ed. Swiss Institute for Art Research, Zurich, no. 1907.61. Dating from around 1907, “Still Life with a Bowl, Apples, and a Jug” belongs to a significant period in Cuno Amiet’s artistic development. During these years, the influences he had absorbed since the early 1890s coalesced into a distinctive pictorial language. The painting combines lessons drawn from French modernism with an expressive use of color that would establish Amiet as one of the leading figures of Swiss modern art. The foundations of this development were laid during his stay in Pont-Aven in 1892–93. There, Amiet encountered Synthetism and an approach to painting in which color and form increasingly departed from direct observation of nature. Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh were particularly important to his development. While Gauguin’s painting was characterized by simplified, clearly defined forms and compositions built from broad areas of color, Amiet drew above all on van Gogh’s free brushwork and the expressive power of his palette. His association with the artists’ group “Brücke” beginning in 1906 further strengthened his shift toward expressive painting. These influences are clearly evident in this still life. Rather than seeking to convey an illusion of depth or the precise textures of objects, Amiet brings the various elements together in a concentrated composition of color planes, contours, and animated brushwork. The traditional still-life subject thus becomes the starting point for a painting in which color and form increasingly function as independent means of expression. The work demonstrates how consistently Amiet drew on the innovations of French modernism around 1907, developing them into an increasingly expressive visual language of his own. * The full tax is charged on this item marked *; that is, VAT is charged on the total amount but will be refunded to purchasers who provide a validly stamped export declaration.