from left to right
JM2475 Jug with Apples I., 1918, oil on cardboard 35 x 24cm
JM2476 Jug with Apples II., 1918, oil on cardboard 35 x 24cm
JM2477 Jug with Apples III., 1918, oil on cardboard 35 x 24cm
The painting “Jug with Apples II.” (1918, oil on cardboard) by André Evard belongs to a series of three still lifes grouped around the same central motif: a jug, flanked by several apples. Each work in this series is numbered (I–III), yet varies in color scheme, composition, and the detailed rendering of the jug and fruit arrangement. “Jug with Apples II.” stands out as the most vibrant work in the series.
The composition is deliberately simple: The massive, ochre-greenish shimmering jug dominates the center of the image, conveying a calm, monumental presence through its closed form and heavy plasticity. In the lower third of the painting, four brightly yellow-green apples lie, appearing more vibrant in contrast to the jug’s matte surface. Their slightly varied orientation and vibrant coloration introduce movement and visual tension into the otherwise strictly vertically organized composition.
Evard foregoes superfluous details here, focusing entirely on the interplay of light, volume, and color. The colors appear particularly saturated in this second work of the series.
It is also striking that, throughout the series, the artist not only varies the arrangement of the apples but also slightly alters the decor and shape of the jug – an indication of his experimental approach and his engagement with formal questions in modern still life painting. This series of paintings thus exemplifies Evard’s transitional phase after Art Nouveau and before Constructivism: a search for inner balance, for order, rhythm, and color as autonomous means of expression.
“Jug with Apples II.” is thus more than a simple still life – it is a color-condensed snapshot, a meditative arrangement that documents Evard’s quiet yet consistent artistic development.