Still Life. Eucalyptus and Chrysanthemums 1935

Lucien Pissarro made this still life of Eucalyptus and Chrysanthemums with oil paint, sometime in his life. There's something so simple, so domestic about the subject matter, and I love how he’s captured the scene. The surface has this beautiful, almost chalky texture, built up from layers of thin paint. You can see the brushstrokes, each one carefully placed, like he's building up the image, piece by piece. Look at the leaves, how each one is defined with just a few strokes. It's amazing how he uses the color to suggest form and light. And the eucalyptus leaves, how they catch the light, almost shimmering. I'm reminded of Morandi, with the way he finds beauty in the ordinary. Both artists have a way of making you see the world in a new way. In art, as in life, nothing is ever fixed.