Notes

This early still life provides insights into the development of Irma Stern’s painting. With the influence of her German Expressionist mentors like Max Pechstein still clearly evident, Stern uses expressive draughtsmanship to redefine objects as if she were sculpting them anew. Glorious complementary colour contrasts of the oranges against the turquoise vase enliven the painting. Interestingly, she also makes use of strong black outlines and black mixed into her colours to achieve tonal depth that heightens the three-dimensionality of objects such as the vase.

Fluid brushstrokes rapidly painted capture the sensation of the fabric rather than its precise detail. The red vertical and ogival arch suggest a spiritual atmosphere yet they are aspects of a favourite woven mat acquired in the Congo and incorporated into several paintings such as the unique Still Life with Proteas in a Jar, included in Strauss & Co’s May 2010 sale. As Marion Arnold points out:

The fact remains that Stern had a good eye. She recognised quality craftsmanship and she acquired many fine carvings and textiles at a time when European museums still classified examples of African art as anthropological curiosities or curios.ⁱ

The vase is the same one she chose for her painting, Lilies, which featured so prominently in Strauss & Co’s November 2010 auction. This Chinese jar, with its brownish slip and turquoise glaze, was acquired by Stern for her own collection and is currently in the UCT Irma Stern Museum (catalogue number 534).

The still life is finished and given exotic appeal with one of the Zanzibari frames that Stern collected on her travels in East Africa.

ⁱ Marion Arnold, Irma Stern: A Feast for the Eye, Fernwood press, 1995, p129.