Lot 15 N

This charming “Stillleben mit Pfirsichen” belongs to a group of similar fruit still lifes, which differ only in their selection of fruit and the character of their baskets. The signed painting here depicts an elegantly curved basket made of bast, containing a skilfully arranged variety of ripe peaches and a few leaves. Purrmann has placed it on a table running parallel to the edge of the picture. The background is formed by wallpaper featuring a pattern of floral motifs. Within this composition of horizontal and vertical lines, the handle and shadows of the basket provide the picture with depth and movement. All four fruit still lifes from this series are kept rather dark and are gently modelled in light and shadow. The fruits themselves are depicted with short brushstrokes that are parallel to the picture plane, with the result that individual passages appear to shimmer and the colours mix together only in the eye of the viewer. This technique was introduced by the impressionists and perfected by the pointillists. Purrmann was familiar with and utilised these achievements, but he linked them with a sometimes broad manner of painting, which was based on shapes and resembled what he had seen in the work of Henri Matisse.