Still Life With Flower

Art Gallery of Ontario

4. Still Life with Flowers, 1906, gouache on cardboard, and the size is 72.1 by 55.9 cm. A floral bouquet and dishes are set against a warm orange background. This still life centres around a white ceramic vase with a flared neck that narrows to meet a rounded body, curving into a pedestal that sits on the table. Elaborate handles flare out from the neck, curling into the body of the vase. An assorted bouquet of flowers overflows to fill the top half of the painting. There is a mixture of soft pink, blue, and white wildflowers to the left of the bouquet, while classic pink and red roses are on the right. A branch with green leaves and yellow flowers bursts out of the top of the flower arrangement. To the left of the vase, on the table, there is a white plate with a shiny green earthenware bowl. To the right of the vase is an elegant, white ceramic chocolate pot with a curved spout, lid, and faceted body. This is an autobiographical artwork; the bowl, handmade in Spain, refers to Picasso. The chocolate pot, factory-made in France, symbolizes his lover, the artist Fernande Olivier. The local wildflowers represent Picasso, as well, while the cultivated roses symbolize the sophisticated Fernande.