Compotier

I like the word compotier.  It has many pleasant associations for me, beginning with the art of Pierre Bonnard, that turn of the last century painter whose fuzzy world is so filled with color and intimacy.  When I happened to find a compotier made of blue glass, it seemed like a kind destiny was tapping me on the shoulder.  It’s nothing fancy, but I love it nonetheless.  The light passing through it spreads an intense blue around.  Objects seen though it are distorted in interesting ways.  And, thus, it has become a star among my beloved still life objects.

This picture is the kind of thing that one dashes out to exercise one’s seeing muscles.  It’s an oil pastel “painting.”  And some of the texture of this fine, maleable medium are well captured in this reproduction.  Oil pastels blend in a messy way.  It’s not the thing for fastidious artists.  But for those to whom it belongs, it’s a great tool.  It can achieve very paint-like qualities in a dry, portable medium.

[Study of a compotier with fruit by Aletha Kuschan]