Still life with hibiscus, angel's trumpets and fruits - Irma Stern

An expressionist still life by Irma Stern, featuring a bold arrangement of hibiscus, angel's trumpets, and fruit rendered with thick, gestural brushwork.

Irma Stern, a central figure in South African modernism, produced this still life during a period when her work focused on the tactile qualities of paint and the bold representation of botanical subjects. The composition features a collection of hibiscus flowers and angel's trumpets, arranged alongside fruits on a surface. Stern employs a heavy impasto technique, applying pigment with visible, energetic brushwork that prioritises the physical presence of the objects over precise photographic detail.

The colour palette is dominated by warm, earthy tones contrasted against the deep, moody blues of the background. The flowers are rendered with sweeping strokes of red and orange, capturing the organic, drooping forms of the angel's trumpets. The fruits in the foreground are simplified into rounded shapes, grounding the arrangement. Stern's approach to the subject reflects her interest in the visual energy of her surroundings, often drawing from her travels across Africa and Europe. Her style is characterised by a rejection of academic restraint, favouring a direct, emotive application of colour that defines the form of the objects through light and shadow rather than rigid outlines.

This work demonstrates the artist's ability to transform a domestic arrangement into a study of texture and light. The background remains largely abstract, creating a sense of depth that pushes the floral arrangement forward. By focusing on the interplay between the organic curves of the flora and the solid forms of the fruit, Stern creates a balanced composition that remains grounded in her expressionist roots. The print captures the original oil texture, preserving the gestural quality of the brushstrokes and the specific tonal shifts that define Stern's mid-career output.