Around 1905 -1930s · Familiar objects, emotional color and unstable space

Expressionist still life does not only describe objects: it loads flowers, dishes, fruits or books with a colorful tension and an almost human presence.

At the beginning of the 20th century, still life offered expressionist artists a particularly free laboratory. Without imposed narrative or model to flatter, they can distort the table, intensify the contrasts and let the touch translate a sensation. At Egon Schiele, flowers and containers appear fragile, nervous, sometimes isolated in a bare space. Edvard Munch treats vegetables, fruits, pipes and books with the same psychological attention as his figures: color and material give objects a lived density. August Macke organizes surfaces in luminous relationships, while Paul Klee pushes still life towards sign, play and mental construction. This collection thus brings together several paths of European expressionism. The object remains recognizable, but its daily function fades in favor of rhythm, color and the interior state. The "Expressionist still lifes" selection notably compares Still life and Still life with dice. His reading favors movement.

In expressionist still life, the table becomes a small mental scene: each object counts less by its use than by the tension it introduces.