Provenance

Chester H. Johnson

American

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A shiny, fern-green ceramic pitcher holds four cream-white and two ruby-red peonies on a brown tabletop, presumably wood, in this vertical, stylized still life painting. This was created with loose, visible brushstrokes so some details are difficult to make out. The four peonies clustered to our right are painted with textured strokes of cream white and pale butter yellow. The two red flowers to our left are similarly painted with long, parallel strokes. The leaves are painted with moss and sage green, with vivid royal blue for the shadows. The pitcher has a wide mouth over only slightly pinched neck, and a handle is situated to our right. Cobalt-blue, widely spaced, vertical stripes are flanked by fawn-brown zigzagging lines. The tabletop is painted as a field of brown, separated from the background with a line of navy blue. The background is made with long strokes in aqua, light blue, and celery green that curve around the flowers in the upper right corner. The artist signed the painting with dark blue paint in the lower right corner, “Piicasso,” adding an extra I.
Pablo Picasso, Peonies, 1901, oil on hardboard mounted on plywood, Gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman, 1981.41.1

Peonies

Pablo Picasso · 1901 · oil on hardboard mounted on plywood ·  Accession ID  1981.41.1