Artwork
Still Life, a Vase, a Bottle and a Jug with Flowers
Still Life, a Vase, a Bottle and a Jug with Flowers is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist John Quinton Pringle. It dates from 1923 and is held in the collection of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
About this work
Overview
John Quinton Pringle’s 1923 oil painting presents a quiet still‑life composition of three vessels—a tall, slender vase, a short rounded bottle, and a jug with a handle and spout—each brimming with blossoms. The objects rest against a muted gray‑brown backdrop, their forms rendered with careful attention to light, which falls from the upper left and generates soft shadows that model the scene’s volume.
Subject & Meaning
The work concentrates on everyday domestic objects transformed by the presence of flowers in shades of purple, pink and yellow. By arranging the vase, bottle and jug together, Pringle emphasizes the contrast between the solidity of the containers and the fleeting vitality of the blooms, inviting contemplation of the transitory nature of beauty within ordinary settings.
Technique & Style
The illumination from the top left creates a subtle chiaroscuro, giving depth to the objects without overt dramatization.
Executed in oil, the painting displays the post‑impressionist concern for color modulation and surface texture. Pringle applies paint in layered strokes that capture the reflective quality of glass and ceramic, while the muted background allows the vivid floral hues to stand out. The illumination from the top left creates a subtle chiaroscuro, giving depth to the objects without overt dramatization.
History & Provenance
Created in 1923, the canvas entered the collection of Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, where it remains on public view. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s commitment to representing early twentieth‑century Scottish art and the contributions of artists associated with the Glasgow Boys.
Context
Pringle’s still‑life aligns with the broader influence of French naturalist Jules Bastien‑Lepage on the Glasgow Boys, who sought to blend realistic observation with a modern palette. The painting’s restrained composition and emphasis on light echo this cross‑cultural exchange, situating the work within the transition from traditional realism to the more expressive tendencies of post‑impressionism.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Quinton Pringle (13 December 1864 – 25 April 1925) was a Scottish painter, influenced by Jules Bastien-Lepage and associated with the Glasgow Boys.
