Still Life With Mortar By Jules Agard

This particularly accomplished still life illustrates Agard’s mastery in depicting Provençal interiors in the early 20th century.In an intimate and serene composition, a stone mortar and its pestle occupy the center, surrounded by scattered garlic cloves, lemon halves, a bottle of olive oil, and a plate with a blue border.In the background, a massive sideboard and earthenware and metal objects appear in a diffused, slightly hazy light, creating a subtle contrast between material, texture, and depth.

The scene evokes the heart of traditional Provençal cuisine: simplicity, authenticity, and the calm atmosphere of everyday life in days gone by. Indeed, Jules Agard is a Provençal painter, a keen observer of the southern light, known for his rural landscapes of La Crau and the Étang de Berre, as well as for a few interior scenes and still lifes marked by simplicity.
He founded a sort of “rural/regional school” around him—sometimes called the “École de Grans”—bringing together artists with farming backgrounds who shared the same attachment to the land (names such as Jules Leydier and Paul Décombis).

Oil on canvas, signed in the lower center and dated 1915 (note: there is an old restoration approximately in the center of the canvas; see photo of the reverse side)

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