Naturaleza Muerta Con Copa De Frutas 1918

María Blanchard made this painting of a still life with a fruit bowl, probably with oils, and in her own, unique way. I like how she has translated this bowl of fruit into a faceted jewel of colour and form. Imagine Blanchard, staring intently at her subject, the fruit bowl, but then letting her mind and hand wander – a little bit this way, a little bit that way, constructing the painting as a collage of coloured planes. The ochres and oranges are warm and inviting and sit alongside cooler blues and reds, giving the painting a push-pull kind of energy. I especially love the dark squiggles to the right of the swan neck which remind me of the work of Leger. It makes me think about how every painting is a conversation with other paintings, backwards and forwards in time. A painting is never ‘finished’ because its meanings are always shifting and changing.