The Blue Bowl
Artist
Roger Fry
(British, 1866–1934)
Date1919
Mediumoil on composition board
Dimensions43.5 x 57 cm (17 1/8 x 22 7/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1924.10
DescriptionViewed from above, this still life in oil on board shows a round, light blue bowl on a brown table in the center diagonal. The bowl is to the left of a draped white cloth on the edge of the table and next to a dark blue container, a pepper mill and a half lemon. A yellow plaid cloth with blue and red stripes is seen above the bowl. Shadows of the objects on the table suggest an ambiguous light source. Signed on lower left: Roger Fry, 1919.Label TextAfter studying art in both Italy and the Académie Julian in Paris, Fry became an art critic for various publications, then Curator of Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. There he discovered the work of Cézanne in 1906 and converted from a student of Italian old masters to a strong supporter of the avant-garde. Cézanne’s unique method of building form with color and expressive brushwork inspired Fry in his own painting, as evident in The Blue Bowl. In a letter to his daughter about the painting, Fry wrote: “I’ve worked a lot at my still life: Turquoise bowl, blue milk can, lemon, pepperpot napkin, the yellow tablecloth at top. It’s a very curious color and the composition is an idea of emptiness in the middle and rather a series of lines and small forms all round.” ProvenancePercy Moore Turner, London England
On View
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