Chuck Rosenthal is an oil painter. His beautiful still life paintings adorn homes and offices and galleries. Although he does not paint still life exclusively, he does paint them brilliantly, with contrasting colors, gently cascading sunlight playing on fruits, wine, baskets, bowls, glass and flowers.
A definite quality that makes Rosenthal’s work extraordinary is the texture visible in each painting. For example, in “Daffodils and Grapes” the artist places the silky cool texture of grapes falling out of a cup on the rougher texture of a dark linen tablecloth, and the smooth cool feel of the vase filled with frilly daffodils, alive with color.
Another interesting composition that shows such contrasts is “Fruit Harvest,” where a well used basket is next to a cool metal goblet. The goblet alone is an astounding piece of work – the artist used a wide variety of hues from very dark to nearly white to express the metal piece. In the foreground are pears that have fallen out of the basket – one feels if one put his finger on them, they would feel like ripe pears, in contrast to the hard shiny apple in front of them.
The composition of “Fruit Harvest II” leads the eye around the painting from the bright fruit in the foreground to the textured bowl behind, then to the smooth cool bottle of wine and finally to the brocade tablecloth that foretells the rest of the room in which this painting is set. One can imagine brocade drapes and thick carpets and elaborate furniture in the scene. The contrast of the bright fruit and dark background pulls one into the painting.
“Teapot and Fruit” shows us a coarse teapot, thrown on a potter’s wheel to judge by the shape and surface quality, with grapes and apples in the foreground. The table suggests the kitchen – a cutting surface rather than a cloth covered dining room or parlor. Light seems to seep through the dark blue wall in the background – perhaps a heavy cloth covering a window.
The very dark, almost black background in “Roses from the Garden” makes the brightly colored roses pop out in this painting. But the most interesting contrast in this painting is the dark glass bottle which holds the roses – even though it is set against the dark background it manages to stand out due to the light falling on it and the smoothness of its surface. A few soft pears placed in contrast to the hard bottle create depth in the painting.
The subject matter of these paintings is similar to old masters paintings from the 17th and 18th century, but the style of painting lends a more modern touch. The artist obviously studied old still life paintings, but painted the subjects in his own style, a bright and lively style, in spite of the still subjects and shadowy areas of the paintings.
You can see pictures of these paintings at www.theparkplacegallery.com, the website of The Park Place Gallery in Leawood, Kansas. Chuck Rosenthal paintings are on display there.
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