Still Life with Water Jug, Towel and Jars 1929

Vilhelm Lundstrom made this still life with water jug, towel, and jars using oil paint. I'm looking at these very distinct, geometric shapes, and the bold use of color—a cool blue background, contrasted with the warmer tones of the jars. Lundstrom's painting feels like a conversation with the still lifes of artists like Cezanne or Braque, but he's doing something different, simplifying forms to their essence. I bet that when Lundstrom was making this he was in a back-and-forth, adding and subtracting elements, shifting the objects around until they felt just right. Look at the way he handles the towel, those broad, confident strokes that somehow capture the essence of draped fabric. It’s not about perfection, it's about feeling and seeing. For me, painting is never a monologue. It’s always a dialogue with art history, with other artists, and with the materials themselves.