Winter Still Life with Candle 1950

Editor: This is Mary Fedden's "Winter Still Life with Candle," painted in 1950. There's a magical, almost theatrical feel to it, with that glowing candle and the snow-covered village peeking out behind the flowers. It’s oil paint, so the colors are rich. What do you make of this juxtaposition of cozy interior and stark winter scene? Curator: Oh, it's enchanting, isn't it? It sings to that age-old human desire to bring the outside in, to tame the wildness of winter with the warmth of our hearth. That candle…it’s more than just illumination, wouldn’t you say? It's a symbol of hope, a tiny sun defying the long night. The village beyond, frosted and moonlit, whispers of the quiet solitude that winter brings. And Fedden has layered it all with such intuitive colour, making the flowers feel almost unnaturally alive against the gloom. Editor: Absolutely! It's like she's blurring the lines between still life and landscape. I find that blurring quite comforting and uplifting; it also allows my eyes to travel throughout the painting's visual planes. What do you mean by intuitive color? Curator: It’s a sort of poetry with pigment. Observe those colours. Fedden layers colour over colour in order to represent the scene accurately as she envisioned it. Instead of carefully studying shadows, edges or blending color from two adjacent forms, she renders shadows by adding complementary hues (red/green), making colours feel richer. It all seems so spontaneous. It reminds me of the way a child might approach painting, all joy and emotion with a very clear vision of the message they would like to send through art. It speaks directly to the heart, doesn't it? And how very brave of her! Editor: It does. I hadn't thought about it like that. It's more personal than I initially realized, almost like a dreamscape of winter. I think I appreciate it even more now. Curator: Exactly! A beautiful winter dream…a gentle reminder that even in the deepest winter, beauty persists. Thank you for bringing me back to this gorgeous example!