Vase And Flowers

Featuring a vase of flowers that appears to be haunted by its own shadow, this is one of Hockney’s more unsettling still lifes. The vase itself is tall and features small handles on either side of its neck, recalling an ancient Greek style of amphora. It appears to contain a bunch of daffodils or perhaps irises, pushed into close proximity by the narrow opening. Light bounces off the vessel suggesting it is glazed and the shadow suggests the light comes from an unseen source on the left.

Dating to 1969 the work is in keeping with the etchings found in Illustrations For Six Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm as well as works such as Tulips from 1973 where the flowers are kept in monochrome, their delicate stems and blooms depicted with fine lines. The background is bare and the flowers appear to be resting against a wall on the floor. There is no discernible table top or cloth, as in other still lifes with flowers, and the work would seem a little unmoored were it not for the careful attention paid to the petals and the surface of the vase. The shadow itself is expertly rendered as a haze of grey which appears to take the form of a figure in its abstraction. It also serves to evoke the sharp white light of California that Hockney sought out in the mid 60s after having seen it in Hollywood movies.