{"product_id":"still-life-oil-on-board-signed-mg-collins","title":"Circa 1970s Still Life Oil Painting on Canvas Board with Pear and Grapes in Dark Wood Frame, Signed M.G. Collins","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA pear wrapped in a linen napkin, a bunch of black grapes still on the vine and a glass carafe catching the light: this vintage still life follows a tradition that stretches back to the Dutch and Flemish painters of the seventeenth century, who set fruit against dark grounds to make every colour glow. Signed lower right by M.G. Collins, it has all the drama of those old kitchen tables, painted with a lighter, more affectionate touch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe composition is lovely to study up close. A peach blushes coral and gold beside a ripe orange, two cherries sit at the front of the board, and a single yellow vine leaf curls across the deep brown background. The napkin is the star for us, tumbling off the edge of the wooden board in soft creamy folds, and the pear tucked inside it is the brightest thing in the picture. The brushwork is visible throughout, with little dabs of white picking out the shine on every grape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePainted in oils on a 14 x 10 inch canvas board made by the Daler Board Company of Wareham, Dorset, whose original label is still on the back, it dates from before the firm became Daler Rowney in the 1980s. The artist's surname is pencilled on the reverse too, a nice personal touch. The painting sits in its original frame of dark stained wood with a natural linen slip and a fine white inner edge, typical of the 1960s and 70s. Measuring 43 x 32.5 cm including the frame, it is ready to hang. The linen slip shows a few light age marks in places, which we think only add to its character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHang it above a kitchen dresser or on a dining room wall, where the warm browns will pick up wooden furniture and copper pans. It looks beautiful propped on a deep windowsill or mantelpiece beside a pair of brass candlesticks, or as the anchor of a gallery wall mixing still lifes, botanical prints and small landscapes. Against a painted wall in sage, ochre or soft plaster pink, that yellow pear really sings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA small, characterful original that brings a little old master atmosphere to an everyday room, without the old master price tag. And fruit that never needs replacing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Blue Loft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55258068582727,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0850\/3921\/9015\/files\/BF8E773E-6144-459E-B3F2-786D4F61DAF5.jpg?v=1791109440","url":"https:\/\/www.theblueloft.co.uk\/products\/still-life-oil-on-board-signed-mg-collins","provider":"The Blue Loft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}