RSA Scottish Art
Still Life with Blue Vase
 | Artist: Mary Armour |
| Title: Still Life with Blue Vase | |
| Year: 1953 | |
| Medium: oil on board | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA Diploma Collection | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| © Executors of the late Mary Armour RSA | |
| Description: Mary Armour generally painted still life, flower paintings and landscapes. Still Life with Blue Vase is a rich, delicate painting, executed in a range of cool pastel colours. The palette is mostly in the blue to purple range, with the yellow fruit at the centre of the composition creating a strong, contrasting focal point. The tonal range is light, and this gives a sense of the painting being carried out in a bright room with soft, diffused light and few shadows. The thick texture of the paint creates broken surfaces that are especially effective in the representation of lace and fabric. The observation of the objects is very truthful to reality, such as the way the glass has been carefully rendered. The accurate perspective and delicate highlights add to the authenticity of the painting. This arrangement of objects has been carefully chosen to present a pleasing composition of irregular shapes and complementary colours. The pot plant and fruit are the only living objects in this still life - everything else is a man-made object. The eye is drawn to them because of the colours and their position. Would you be able to guess the date of the painting from the objects used and the way they are arranged? The mood of this painting is relaxed and leisurely. The artist has taken a lot of care over the painting and she has displayed her skill by depicting a pleasing scene that represents comfort and beauty. When you paint a still life do you concentrate more on the objects and their meaning or on the feeling or mood of the scene? | |
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