Antique French Oil Still Life of Poppies, Signed J. Georges, Early 20th Century

Period
Early 20th century, French

Size
20¼ x 26 inches, framed

An oil on canvas, poppies in a low straight-sided vase set before a window, signed lower right J. Georges.

Nine open blooms and one bud, laid in with a loaded brush so the paint stands off the surface across every flower head, the reds carried from vermilion through to a deep crimson in the folds with black hearts at the centers. Behind them the window bars and the green beyond are scrubbed in thin and broken, which throws the whole weight of the picture onto the flowers. Two fallen petals lie on the table in front of the vase, painted with the same thickness as the blooms above them.

There is surface dirt overall and light rubbing at the edges. The frame is a plain molded wood, the gilding worn through to the red bole and to bare wood across most of its length, with losses at the lower right corner. Sold as found.

Historical Context
Poppies became a studio subject in France in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the collapsible metal paint tube and the new chrome and cadmium reds made a saturated orange red both portable and permanent. The flower suits the medium and defeats the drawing, since a poppy holds its shape for a day and its petals are thin enough to pass light, so painters worked them fast and thick and let the paint carry the color and leave the contour loose.