About the work
One repeatedly finds still lifes with floral bouquets in the work of Otto Modersohn as of the mid-1920s. This one is found in a grey stoneware vase on a table covered with a blue tablecloth with a white pattern in front of a sofa with a red pattern. The flowers include, among others, cornflowers and yarrow, thus more of a spray of wildflowers than a bouquet from the florist. The painting speaks equally through the intensity of its colour and the detailed and delicate representation of the individual blossoms and leaves. The shimmering blaze of colour is rich in variety and nuances. And although this is the representation of an interior, Modersohn’s affinity for nature can also be felt in this work.
The motif in itself precisely highlights many aspects that are of crucial importance for modern art: abstraction and expression as well as symbolic value play a significant role for the composition of the floral still life. On the one hand, the discussion revolving around originality and convention is also stimulated, while the dialogue between nature and art remains an immanent pictorial theme.
Text authored and provided by Dr Andrea Fink, art historian
The art historian, curator and freelance publicist Andrea Fink studied art history, cultural studies and humanities, modern history and philosophy in Bochum and Vienna. Doctorate in 2007 on the work of the Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay. As a freelance curator and art consultant, her clients include, among others, the Kunstverein (art association) Ahlen, Kunstverein Soest, Wella Museum, Museum am Ostwall Dortmund, ThyssenKrupp AG, Kulturstiftung Ruhr, Osthaus Museum Hagen, Franz Haniel GmbH, Kunsthalle Krems, Austria.
