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Lot Essay
While based at his family home in Edinburgh, Cadell made regular trips out of town to stay with friends. One of his favourite haunts was Shambellie House, the home of the Stewart family. His introduction to the house was made through a young Edinburgh friend and legal student, C.E. (Ted) Stewart, whose father, William, owned the estate. Cadell's friendship with Stewart was to last a lifetime: Ted was a regular patron of Cadell from an early age, acquiring his first painting in 1907. He also became the secretary of the Society of Eight when it was founded in 1912, and executor of Cadell's estate in 1938 (see T. Hewlett and D. Macmillan, F.C.B. Cadell, London, 2011, p. 25).
Cadell treated Shambellie very much as his second home. He returned frequently to stay with the family and although his trips there were more for social reasons than an attempt to sell his paintings, his work attracted a following from the Stewart family and some of their friends and relations. During the war, Cadell received surprisingly significant professional success, not least due to the efforts of Stewart, who managed his affairs in his absence, and who helped secure the backing of Cadell by the influential dealer Alexander Reid, in 1918.
By 1916, Cadell continued to live life to the full in Edinburgh, particularly in the company of other artists, arranging 'artistic evenings' at 130 George Street. These were often attended by Stewart, at whose wedding Cadell was best man prior to leaving for active service in the First World War. Ted, and his bride, Miss Nan Ivory, received a painting each as a wedding present; Still life with blue jug was one of them.
Cadell explored the genre of the still life in the pre-war period. The present work is a fine early example of Cadell's orchestration of still-life objects, such as jugs, flowers and fruit; items to which he was to return for inspiration time after time. His objects are placed on a white cloth, and against a black background, for contrast.
Cadell developed a palette based on a range of whites, creams and beiges, a prominent use of black - influenced by the French artist Éduoard Manet - with highlights of bright colour, and a technique of feathery, loaded brushstrokes (see A. Strang, F.C.B. Cadell, Edinburgh, 2011, p. 17). In the present work, the palette is dominated by the creamy white tablecloth, which has been vigorously worked upon with overlapping short brushstrokes. The focus of the painting is the midnight blue jug. A tonal contrast plays between the jug and its brighter counterpart of the orange, reflecting the tension between light and dark and its background and foreground. The vibrancy and opulence of the orange glows and lifts its dark counterpart and commands immediate attention. Flecks of yellow and orange carry the air of spontaneous editions and give the painting an impressive vigor. Still life with blue jug shows perfectly his masterful treatment of the medium; using thick impasto with a free and spontaneous handling, generous brushstrokes applied with great economy he creates a vibrant, glowing image against the rich, creamy background.
Cadell treated Shambellie very much as his second home. He returned frequently to stay with the family and although his trips there were more for social reasons than an attempt to sell his paintings, his work attracted a following from the Stewart family and some of their friends and relations. During the war, Cadell received surprisingly significant professional success, not least due to the efforts of Stewart, who managed his affairs in his absence, and who helped secure the backing of Cadell by the influential dealer Alexander Reid, in 1918.
By 1916, Cadell continued to live life to the full in Edinburgh, particularly in the company of other artists, arranging 'artistic evenings' at 130 George Street. These were often attended by Stewart, at whose wedding Cadell was best man prior to leaving for active service in the First World War. Ted, and his bride, Miss Nan Ivory, received a painting each as a wedding present; Still life with blue jug was one of them.
Cadell explored the genre of the still life in the pre-war period. The present work is a fine early example of Cadell's orchestration of still-life objects, such as jugs, flowers and fruit; items to which he was to return for inspiration time after time. His objects are placed on a white cloth, and against a black background, for contrast.
Cadell developed a palette based on a range of whites, creams and beiges, a prominent use of black - influenced by the French artist Éduoard Manet - with highlights of bright colour, and a technique of feathery, loaded brushstrokes (see A. Strang, F.C.B. Cadell, Edinburgh, 2011, p. 17). In the present work, the palette is dominated by the creamy white tablecloth, which has been vigorously worked upon with overlapping short brushstrokes. The focus of the painting is the midnight blue jug. A tonal contrast plays between the jug and its brighter counterpart of the orange, reflecting the tension between light and dark and its background and foreground. The vibrancy and opulence of the orange glows and lifts its dark counterpart and commands immediate attention. Flecks of yellow and orange carry the air of spontaneous editions and give the painting an impressive vigor. Still life with blue jug shows perfectly his masterful treatment of the medium; using thick impasto with a free and spontaneous handling, generous brushstrokes applied with great economy he creates a vibrant, glowing image against the rich, creamy background.