Still Life with Pheasant - Boris Kustodiev

A 1915 oil painting by Boris Kustodiev featuring a bold arrangement of a lobster, pheasant, and roses in a high-chroma, decorative style.

Boris Kustodiev, a painter associated with the World of Art group, produced this still life in 1915. The composition displays a collection of objects arranged upon a white cloth, featuring a cooked lobster on a blue patterned plate, a pheasant, a vase of roses, and two apples. The work demonstrates the artist's interest in texture and colour, moving away from his more common depictions of provincial Russian life to focus on the domestic arrangement of goods.

The painting employs a high-chroma palette, particularly in the contrast between the bright red of the lobster and the deep blue of the ceramic vase and plate. Kustodiev uses thick, confident brushwork to define the plumage of the bird and the shell of the crustacean, creating a tactile quality. The roses, rendered in shades of pink and crimson, provide a soft counterpoint to the rigid forms of the food items. The light source appears to come from the left, casting subtle shadows across the white tablecloth and grounding the objects within the space.

Kustodiev was a student of Ilya Repin and maintained a connection to the traditions of the Imperial Academy of Arts, yet his work often incorporated elements of folk art and modern decorative sensibilities. This piece reflects his ability to balance realistic observation with a decorative approach to composition. The arrangement is dense, filling the frame with objects that suggest a sense of abundance. By focusing on the material qualities of the subjects, Kustodiev invites the viewer to observe the interplay of light and shadow across varied surfaces. The work remains a representative example of his studio practice during the mid-1910s, showing his technical skill in handling oil paint to capture the specific character of his subjects.