'Still Life with Fruit and Flowers' by Juliette Roche-Gleizes (circa 1930s)

'Still Life with Fruit and Flowers', oil on board, attributed to Juliette Roche-Gleizes (circa 1930s).  Another vibrant, colourful display of ranunculus flowers in a white planter on table with fruits and vegetables. This painting is a more 'serious' work compared to the other easy-going still life with flowers by Roche-Gleizes held by this gallery. Here the floral display bursts from the plain white bowl like fireworks. In contrast, the grounded produce on the table is subdued and accessible. They all come together in harmony with the draped background and cloth covering the table. In good vintage condition commensurate with age. There are slight blemishes evident which do not affect one's overall impression of the artwork. In its original gilded frame with reconditioned wooden slip and preserved backing. Unsigned. Upon request a video of the work will be provided.

Provenance: Although this work is unsigned, this gallery acquired three Roche paintings in the South of France. One has her usual identifying mark in the form of her initials, 'J.R.'. Another, an annotation on the original frame backing:  'Juliette Roche epouse Gleizes' (this painting) and the third, a very similar floral painting with no initials or other markings. An in-house Certificate of Authenticity can be provided upon request. 

Dimensions with frame:

H 34.5 cm / 13.6"

W 37.0 cm / 14.6" 

Dimensions without frame:

H 20 cm / 7.9"

W 23 cm / 9.1"

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.)