M.S. Rau Still-life Paintings

Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Bror Julius Olsson “B.J.O.” Nordfeldt (1878 – 1955) Bror Julius Olsson was born in Tullstrop, Sweden in 1878. He immigrated to the United States in 1891, later adopting his mother’s maiden name of Nordfeldt. Beginning his art studies at the Art Institute of Chicago where he was chosen to assist fellow artist, Albert Herter, with a large mural project for the McCormick Harvester Company. In 1900, he was sent to Paris by McCormick to help set up the completed mural at the Paris Exposition. While there, he studied briefly at the Academie Julian before traveling to England to study woodblock printmaking under F. Morley Fletcher. Returning to Chicago in 1903, Nordfeldt would spend the next ten years painting mainly figurative works in an academic style similar to that of the Old Masters. By the mid-teens he had developed a bold dramatic modernist style and divided his time between New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts. There, he invented the “Provincetown Print...

Gorgeous mid-century painting of heavily textured Ranunculus flowers in a blue vase by Bonnie Yankauer (American, 20th Century), 1964. The palette and impasto brush strokes gives thi...

Rafael Duran Benet (1931-2015) - Still life - Oil on canvas Oil measurements 73x54 cm. Frameless. Rafael Duran Benet (Terrassa, 1931 - Barcelona, 2015) is a Catalan painter, nephew ...

Oil on canvas dating from 1946 by Jean-René Chatelain. Beautiful canvas of a neo-realism soothed. Measurements : with frame: 81x72x7.5 cm - 31.9x28.3x3 inches, without frame: 68x58 c...

Floral with Urn is in a classical Dutch style that dates to the 17th century. The bright flowers drape the urn in whites, crimsons and pinks, standing out against the darker foliage...

A beautiful still life with lilies painted by Australian American artist Hayley Lever (1876-1958). Lever was born in Adelaide, Australia and studied first at...

Modern Abstracted Still-Life with Antique Coffee Grinder by Anthony Rappa Modern textural still-life by California artist Anthony Rappa (America...

Oil on canvas painting by Zaklad Stolarski. Signed lower right and dated 1990. Artist label verso. Condition is excellent. Overall in gold leaf frame with linen liner 19 by 15.25 ...

Rafael Duran Benet (1931-2015) - Still life - Oil Oil on canvas glued to board. Measures work 46x55 cm. Frameless. Rafael Duran Benet (Terrassa, 1931 - Barcelona, 2015) is a Catalan...

Studio of Miguel Canals, Spanish 1925-1995 Still life painting with flowers in a vase oil painting on canvas, framed oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 23 x...

Rafael Duran Benet (1931-2015) - Still life - Oil on canvas panel Oil measurements 50x61 cm. Frameless. Rafael Duran Benet (Terrassa, 1931 - Barcelona, 2015) is a Catalan painter, n...

Provenance: Selma Herringman, New York, ca. 1955-2013; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York, 2013-2020 This seventeenth century Spanish still-life of a laden table, known as a bodegón, stands out for its dramatic lighting and for the detailed description of each object. The artist’s confident use of chiaroscuro enables the sliced-open squash in the left foreground to appear as if emerging out of the darkness and projecting towards the viewer. The light source emanates from the upper left, illuminating the array, and its strength is made apparent by the reflections on the pitcher, pot, and the fruit in the basket. Visible brush strokes accentuate the vegetables’ rough surfaces and delicate interiors. Although the painter of this striking work remains unknown, it is a characteristic example of the pioneering Spanish still-lifes of the baroque period, which brought inanimate objects alive on canvas. In our painting, the knife and the large yellow squash boldly protrude off the table. Balancing objects on the edge of a table was a clever way for still-life painters to emphasize the three-dimensionality of the objects depicted, as well a way to lend a sense of drama to an otherwise static image. The knife here teeters on the edge, appearing as if it might fall off the table and out of the painting at any moment. The shape and consistency of the squash at left is brilliantly conveyed through the light brush strokes that define the vegetable’s fleshy and feathery interior. The smaller gourds—gathered together in a pile—are shrouded partly in darkness and stand out for their rugged, bumpy exterior. The stoneware has a brassy glaze, and the earthy tones of the vessels are carefully modulated by their interaction with the light and shadow that falls across them. The artist has cleverly arranged the still-life in a V-shaped composition, with a triangular slice of cheese standing upright, serving as its pinnacle. Independent still-lifes only became an important pictorial genre in the first years of the seventeenth century. In Italy, and particularly through the revolutionary works of Caravaggio, painted objects became carriers of meaning, and their depiction and arrangement the province of serious artistic scrutiny. Caravaggio famously asserted that it was equally difficult to paint a still-life as it was to paint figures, and the elevation of this new art form would have profound consequences to the present day. In Spain Juan Sanchez Cotan...