Anemones in Yellow Jug
Date1927
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsObject/Work: 266 x 460 mm
ClassificationsArtworks/Commemorations/Photographs
Terms
Object numberGA0941
DescriptionA typical still-life subject painted by Christopher Wood during a period of intense painterly activity within his short life. Wood is perhaps best known for his untutored, primitive style landscapes, seascapes and harbour scenes, but he is equally well known for his still-life subjects. Wood frequently incorporated flowers, books, jugs and fruits, and are sometimes depicted overlooking a sea view. Wood is considered a pioneer of modern painting in Britain who, alongside contemporaries such as Ben and Winifred Nicholson, helped develop a more simplistic and naïve style of painting. In this still-life scene, Wood achieves his wish to simplify painting. He has foreshortened the visual field by using flattened, simplified lines and form. And, by placing blocks of muted, earthy colours side-by-side, he has further flattened the overall image. The painting has an unconventional composition almost as if appearing to cut off the bottom of the image. These reductive approaches to painting and picture-making greater focus the essential components of the image with almost childlike results.
Another painting of anemones by Christopher Wood is held by Leeds Museum and Art Gallery: ('Anemones in a Cornish Window', 1930).
Benjamin Angwin - September 2014
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