Title:
Autumn Leaves, Melons and Vegetables
Creator/Contributor:
Hibi, Hisako
Date:
9/1/1944
Identifier:
96.601.30
Format:
painting
oil on canvas
Description:
Unframed stretched canvas. Image of still life with melons and turnips and leaves. The colors are red, and green and blue.
Historical Note:
Hisako Hibi was fond of painting the vegetables and flowers grown in Topaz concentration camp. This still life work incorporates
autumn leaves, turnips, and other vegetables. According to the inscription on the back the leaves were given to Hibi by a
friend. These kind of leaves were most likely not available in Topaz itself and was possibly sent to Hibi by a friend outside
of camp. The arrangement of vegetables and leaves seem to be on top of a grey table; however, the lack of depth makes the
table edge ambiguous. The vegetables, thus, seem to be almost sliding off the picture plane. This is possibly due to the
heavy influence that Cezanne had on Hibi at this point in her career. Cezanne's still life paintings intentionally depicted
the perspective slightly askew, so that objects often appeared as though about to fall off the surface. Hibi's painting seems
to be an experimentation with the kind of still life works created by Cezanne.
Subject:
Concentration Camps, Topaz | still life | melon | leaves | vegetables