Michel Portnoff, Still Life with Palette and Brushes, Oil Painting on Canvas, 20th Century

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A midcentury oil painting on canvas by French-Ukrainian artist Michel Portnoff (1885-1978), depicting a still life with artist's brushes contained … Read more A midcentury oil painting on canvas by French-Ukrainian artist Michel Portnoff (1885-1978), depicting a still life with artist's brushes contained in a jug, along with a palette knife, magnifier, a brush in pot, a painter's palette and a wooden studio case, all laid on a rustic table. The scene is set in an interior with an antique carpet to the left, stretchers and a door in the background.

Earthy tones dominate the composition, making the colours of the brushes, the white of the pot, and the blue and yellow of the jug stand out. Strong architectural lines give rhythm to the work, from the vertical of the brushes to the horizontal of the table, set against the oblique of the stretchers and case.

The handpainted faience jug, with its bird, geometric motifs and wavy lines, adds character and a sense of place through its folk decoration. Impasto brushwork renders the varied materials with tactile realism, from the reflection of light on the magnifier to the wood of the table and case, and the oil paint itself.

Signed lower right and presented in a period black and gilded frame. An impressive work with substantial presence, offering a refined study of the painter’s environment and introspective glimpse into his creative space.

Born in 1885 in Elizavetgrad (then Russian Empire, now Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine), Portnoff studied at the Odessa School of Art and lived in Florence for approximately twenty years before settling in Paris in 1929. He regularly exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Indépendants, with a solo exhibition at the Simonson gallery in 1935. Commemorative exhibitions were held in Paris in 1979 and 1984. See less