'Still Life with Foliage and Books' by Juliette Roche-Gleizes (circa 1930s)

'Still Life with Foliage and Books', oil on board, by Juliette Roche-Gleizes (circa 1930s). Green leaves often depict hope, renewal and revival. They generally also symbolise fertility and growth or, in Chinese tradition, represent all of the beings in the universe. In this significant artwork by Juliette Roche-Gleizes, the foliage in the large vase sits astride several books. Roche, the artist, was an impassioned supporter of the arts for working class people. Here, the leaves depict their hopes and the books represent the means to achieve them. The painting is in good vintage condition and is newly framed with linen slip. It is initialed 'JR' in the lower right hand corner matching the 'signature' of her most famous paintings. Upon request, a video of the piece can be provided. 

About the Artist: Juliette Roche (1884–1980), French painter and writer. Juliette Roche frequented the Parisian art scene from a young age, thanks to her godmother, the countess Greffulhe, and her father’s godson, Jean Cocteau. Supported by her father, Jules Roche, an important political figure, she studied painting at the Ranson Academy. Adopted early on by 'Les Nabis', she discovered Cubism in 1912, and split away from Félix Ballotton and Maurice Denis. In 1913, a groundbreaking year, she showed her work at the Salon des indépendants, and began writing poetry, inserting clichéd phrases, such as advertising slogans, into the poetic fabric. She also began experimenting with innovative typography, which would become even more iconoclastic in 1917, with her pieces Brevoort and Pôle tempéré. Her first solo show took place at the galerie Bernheim-Jeune in 1914. When war was declared, Roche and her future husband, the cubist Albert Gleizes, confirmed pacifists, traveled to New York, where Duchamp introduced them into the circle of collectors that included Louis and Walter Arensberg. Starting in 1915, she took part in Dada activities, along with Duchamp and Picabia.

After a long trip to Barcelona she and her husband, who were showing at the galerie Dalmau, returned to New York. There, Roche collaborated with Duchamp on the preparation of the first exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists (1917), where she showed some Dada-inspired works. Experimenting with the figurative, she created her piece Nature morte au hachoir [Still life with cleaver], in which the blade reflects a disjointed image of war. In 1919, newly returned to Paris, she began writing her story, La Minéralisation de Dudley Craving Mac Adam. Published in 1924, the story evoked the adventures of Arther Cravan and other artists in exile in New York. In 1921 her poetry État… colloïdal [Coloidal state], appeared in Vincente Huidrobro’s periodical, Creación. In 1927, she and her husband founded, the Moly-Sabata artists’ residence in Sablons, which offered studios and workshops, and brought together Anne Dangar (1885-1951) and Jacques Plasse Le Caisne, among others. Thus Roches became a fervent supporter of arts education for the working class. Throughout the rest of her life she occasionally participated in collective exhibitions. In 1962 a major retrospective at the galerie Miroir in Paris was devoted to her, but it is since the 1990s especially her role in the Dada movement has been reconsidered. (Catherine Gonnard translated from French by Emily Freeman.)

Dimensions with frame:

H 89.5 cm / 35.2"

W 73 cm / 28.7"

Dimensions without frame:

H 79 cm / 31.1"

W 63 cm / 24.8"