Gauvreau (2)

painting

Source: WTL© photograph of canvas in Pierre Gauvreau; Passeur de modernité. Québec: Musée de la civilization, 2014, p. 29.
Image: Untitled canvas of a still life by Gauvreau in 1941. Oil on cardboard.
Comments: This 1941 painting by Gauvreau was exhibited in a small gallery in 1942. The show was juried by the hyper-surrealist Paul-Émile Borduas in 1942. Borduas gave the first prize to the nineteen-year-old Gauvreau, a recognition that launched his career. As you can see, this is "modern" painting that is still quite figurative; yet, to Borduas's eye and in his judgment, it show daring, creativity, a push outside of traditional figurative painting. Incidentally, notice the pink background. Although there was no way that that it could be known at the very beginning of Gauvreau's career, pink--though of as an unusual color for male painters--became one of the "signature" colors of his style and vision.
Humanities Question: What do you think about this painting? What, to you, is good about this work? If there is something you do not like about it, please say so briefly.

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