1880s -1910s · Autonomous object, structure and color

The post-impressionist still life transforms apples, flowers, bottles and tables into laboratories: each artist reconstructs the visible through color, rhythm or geometry.

At the end of the 19th century, still life offered artists an exceptional field of freedom. The pattern can remain still while the painting changes. Cézanne builds apples, plates and tablecloths in relation to volumes, sometimes tilting the table to hold several points of view in the same composition. Van Gogh intensifies bouquet, shoe or fruit with a touch charged with emotion. Émile Bernard simplifies contour and color in the spirit of synthetism, while Gauguin combines cultural objects and signs. At Vallotton, the clean framing and cold light simplify contour and color in the spirit of synthetism, while Gauguin combines cultural objects and signs. At Vallotton, the clean framing and cold light give flowers or food an almost theatrical presence. Vuillard, on the contrary, mixes bottle, candle holder and decor in an intimate surface, where the objects seem to belong to the very fabric of the room. This collection shows that post-impressionism is not a unique style: the table becomes in turn architecture, confession, decor and experience of perception. The "Post-Impressionist Still Lifes" selection notably compares Still Life and Still Life with Flowers. His reading favors drawing.

In the post-impressionist still life, the object does not only pose in front of the painter: it checks what line, color and surface can still invent.