Happy New Year 2012

Still Life: Drawing Board, Pipe, Onions and Sealing Wax by Vincent van Gogh

Van Gogh painted this still life at the New Year 1889.  He depicts familiar objects laid out on his drawing board -  his pipe, a letter from Theo, sealing wax and onions past their best.   The book, Manuel annuaire de la santé is a reference to his concern to maintain good physical health.  He has included a traditional green Provençal olive oil jar, which is identical to this one from the kitchen at Les Bassacs.  It is of exactly the same beautiful deep green glaze and terracotta.

Like many of us at the beginning of a new year Van Gogh was full of good resolve, "the desire comes over me to remake myself"  and convinced that he would find happiness and good health in the act of painting.   

He wrote to Theo his brother, "I am going to set to work again tomorrow.  I shall begin by doing one or two still life's so as to get back into the habit of painting".   

That January he completed 15 paintings all of them still life's or portraits including three versions of his 'Sunflowers'. 

This painting made in January 1889 'Still life with Oranges, Lemons and Blue Gloves', captures for me some of that post-Christmas ennui that slightly tired citrus fruit conjures up.