Still Life with Roses

1960s, oil on cardboard, 67x47 cm (with frame 80x60x4 cm) /// Herberts Siliņš (1926–2001) was a Latvian painter whose works are distinguished by pure, vibrant colours, impasto brushstrokes and an expressive painterly style, continuing the post-impressionist tradition in Latvian art. In this painting, the artist depicts a bouquet of roses in a glass vase, emphasising the diversity of the flowers’ shapes and colours. The composition is dominated by red, pink, white and yellow tones, which contrast with the dark background and lend the flowers a particular expressiveness. The free, impasto brushwork models the volumes of the petals and creates a vivid, painterly texture, while the warm colour palette and play of light and shadow give the work a subdued mood. /// The artist’s signature is located in the lower right corner of the painting.