Le Napperon 1944

Maurice Esteve made this painting, "Le Napperon," using strokes of oil paint to build a world of color and form. I can almost feel Esteve, brush in hand, building up this image square by square. I’m drawn to the way Esteve approaches painting, focusing on color and structure in a way that feels both playful and thoughtful. I imagine him starting with an idea, maybe just a color or a shape, and then letting the painting evolve through a process of adding, subtracting, and adjusting. See how each color speaks to another? The way the squares of the tablecloth don’t quite line up makes the whole thing sing! It’s in conversation with other still life painters, like Matisse or Bonnard, who used ordinary scenes to explore the world through color. It’s all about creating a feeling, not just a picture. And that's what keeps the conversation going.