Alexis Preller - Still Life with Apples, Candle and Book
Alexis Preller
South African 1911-1975
Still Life with Apples, Candle and Book
1949
signed and dated '49
oil on canvas stretched over board
37,5 by 36cm excluding frame; 62 by 57,5 by 5,5cm including frame
Provenance
Acquired from the artist, and thence by descent.
Alexis Preller loved candlelight. The frequent incidence of candles as subjects of his paintings is ascribable to his habitual use of them to light his home, in preference to electrical illumination. He loved the pure whiteness of the wax, the sculpturesque forms created as it melted and ran down. He loved to watch the dancing flames, the pool of light they cast around them - usually on the floor, where the candles would be clustered - and to note the velvet shadows creeping up the walls toward the darkness of the ceiling.
Preiller was well aware of the ritual roles that candles played in almost every culture of the world. His own use of wax candles and flaming torches was ritualised as well, but not in service to any cult or invocation. Preller's innate theatrical instincts prompted him to make a harmless ritual of many aspects of his daily life. Yet, he was not insensitive to the symbolic connotations of the burning candle's temporary grasp on time, as the flame burns down and then burns out.
-Karel Nel
Esmé Berman and Karel Nel (2009) Alexis Preller: Collected Images, Johannesburg: Shelf Publishing. Illustrated in colour on the cover and on page 62..
Alexis Preller
South African 1911-1975
Still Life with Apples, Candle and Book
1949
signed and dated '49
oil on canvas stretched over board
37,5 by 36cm excluding frame; 62 by 57,5 by 5,5cm including frame
Provenance
Acquired from the artist, and thence by descent.
Alexis Preller loved candlelight. The frequent incidence of candles as subjects of his paintings is ascribable to his habitual use of them to light his home, in preference to electrical illumination. He loved the pure whiteness of the wax, the sculpturesque forms created as it melted and ran down. He loved to watch the dancing flames, the pool of light they cast around them - usually on the floor, where the candles would be clustered - and to note the velvet shadows creeping up the walls toward the darkness of the ceiling.
Preiller was well aware of the ritual roles that candles played in almost every culture of the world. His own use of wax candles and flaming torches was ritualised as well, but not in service to any cult or invocation. Preller's innate theatrical instincts prompted him to make a harmless ritual of many aspects of his daily life. Yet, he was not insensitive to the symbolic connotations of the burning candle's temporary grasp on time, as the flame burns down and then burns out.
-Karel Nel
Esmé Berman and Karel Nel (2009) Alexis Preller: Collected Images, Johannesburg: Shelf Publishing. Illustrated in colour on the cover and on page 62..
