1943 Nature morte au compotier Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1943-1961

The composition presents a still life arrangement rendered in a restricted palette dominated by grey, black, and ochre tones. Here we see a bowl filled with what appear to be cherries or small red fruits, positioned centrally within the frame. The bowl itself is abstracted, its form simplified into angular planes that suggest volume without adhering to realistic representation. A cluster of thin, spidery branches emerges from behind the bowl, their delicate lines contrasting sharply with the solidity of the ceramic vessel.
To the right of the bowl sits a collection of glasses or goblets, similarly deconstructed and reassembled in an unconventional manner. Their forms are fragmented, with outlines that shift and overlap, creating a sense of visual ambiguity. The surfaces of these objects appear to be both concave and convex simultaneously, defying conventional perspective.
The background is a flat, monochromatic expanse of grey, providing little depth or spatial context. This lack of atmospheric perspective contributes to the painting’s overall flatness and emphasizes the two-dimensionality of the depicted forms. A signature appears in the upper right corner, executed in a hurried script that further reinforces the sense of immediacy and spontaneity.
The work conveys an impression of austerity and restraint. The limited color range and simplified shapes evoke a mood of quiet contemplation. The fragmentation of objects suggests a deliberate dismantling of traditional notions of representation, hinting at a focus on underlying structures rather than surface appearances. One might interpret this as a reflection of the anxieties and uncertainties prevalent during the period in which it was created – a time marked by conflict and upheaval. The still life genre itself, traditionally associated with abundance and domesticity, is here stripped bare, its familiar comforts rendered alien through abstraction. The arrangement feels less like an invitation to savor beauty and more like a study of form and structure under duress.