Lot 514 Nα

In the present still life, Hans Purrmann has chosen an extremely reductive composition in order to present the depicted camellia blossoms to their greatest advantage. The undefined background is formed by a red colour field in the lower third and by a luminously green one in the upper two thirds. Shifted somewhat to the right of the vertical middle axis, the camellia branches rise up out of a simple water glass. Two large blossoms in nuanced shades of red and pink open up between the firm, dark leaves; the single branch with the flower buds moderates the simple austerity of the composition. The complementary contrast of red and green tones is exemplary of the intensive and charged treatment of colour for which the artist is known.