Still Life 1913

Roger de La Fresnaye painted this “Still Life” with oil on canvas, in an indeterminate year. The still life genre, in its essence, is about contemplation. Yet, here, the familiar objects of bourgeois life—books, a mirror—are fractured, seen through a Cubist lens. Consider the mirror, an age-old symbol of self-reflection and vanity, seen as early as ancient Greece. It reappears throughout the history of art, often in vanitas paintings reminding us of the transience of life. But here, the mirror’s reflection is distorted, hinting at a fractured, uncertain reality. The books, too, evoke knowledge and learning, but their arrangement is chaotic. They suggest a world where established orders are questioned. This fragmented depiction may echo a deeper unease, a psychological state where the familiar becomes alien. The painting reflects a collective consciousness grappling with modernity, inviting us to confront the disquieting beauty of a world in flux.