MD, Peony Decoration, 1890s, Paint and Wood

Details

Description

A tall, painted wooden panel, composed like a large cascade of peonies rising from the bottom to the top of … Read more A tall, painted wooden panel, composed like a large cascade of peonies rising from the bottom to the top of the support. The flowers are pink, white, red, and coral, with buds at various stages of opening, a few red berries, deep green foliage, and fine grasses that define the upper portion, intentionally left airy. The whole stands out against a finely rubbed, pale green background with yellowish drips and highlights, giving it a soft patina.
the flowers are rendered in a naturalistic style, with careful modeling, whites enhanced with bluish hues, and yellow centers. The narrow, asymmetrical, and highly vertical composition recalls the taste for kakemono (hanging scrolls) and the japonisme aesthetic that characterized the decorative arts around 1900. A monogram "md" is painted in ochre yellow in the lower left corner. The support is made of joined planks with rounded corners. The reverse, in brown wood applied with a brush, features three horizontal crossbars with metal ends. Traces on one edge suggest former hinges, indicating that this panel was originally a folding screen or a repurposed wall decoration.

technical specifications
dimensions: h. 101 cm × w. 33.5 cm × d. [to be completed]
period: early 20th century
origin: france (probable)
material/technique: painting on wood panel, [oil, to be confirmed]
mark: monogram "md" painted in the lower left corner, artist unidentified
condition: vertical crack in the upper section, present on both the front and back. Rubbing, slight surface wear, and small losses of paint, notably a chip in the lower left corner revealing the underlying layer. A few dark brown spots on the background. The reverse has a recently added hanging screw. The patina is preserved. See less