Still-Life with Oranges

Inspired by trends in West European art,in the 1850s Navrátil turned his attention to realistic still-lifes. He found many ideas in the shop of his friend Jan Chlumecký, who dealt in exotic spices, wine and fruit. His models were the still-lifes of old Dutch painters and of the French painter Siméon Chardin. Navrátil's studies of delicatessen and fruit bespeak his desire to depict reality - their salient features are plasticity of form and attenuated colours. In his still-lifes the pink and cold pale-blue hues of his gouache landscapes are replaced by a pleasant combination of colours with a predominance of green and brown values. With colours and flat, unfailing brush-strokes Navrátil masterfully rendered the structure, softness and juiciness of the fruit he painted.