Henry Déziré (1878–1965) – Still Life With Strawberries And Flowers, Signed Circa 1930

Henry Déziré (1878–1965) – Still Life with Strawberries and Flowers, signed circa 1930

Oil on canvas
80 × 65 cm
Signed H. Déziré
Circa 1930

Still life depicting a pierced bowl filled with strawberries, a tall bottle holding flowers, and a covered jar with red decoration, arranged against a silvery grey background.

Henry Déziré (1878–1965), born in Libourne and died in Paris, received academic training under William Bouguereau and Gabriel Ferrier at the Académie Julian, and later at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He soon moved away from this strict academic approach to develop a freer style of painting, influenced by the artistic renewal taking place in the Parisian art scene at the time.

His career became established before the First World War. From 1904 onward, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français and regularly at the Salon d’Automne. He was also a member of the Société Moderne, which held exhibitions at the prestigious Galerie Durand-Ruel. The catalogues of these exhibitions already reveal the diversity of his work: landscapes, nudes, decorative compositions, and Arcadian-inspired subjects.

He also exhibited at the Galerie Druet, which dedicated a solo exhibition to him in 1920. His career continued in the major Parisian Salons and abroad. Several of his works were acquired by the French State and entered public collections.

From the second half of the 1920s onward, still life painting became increasingly important in his work. His experimentation gradually shifted from subject matter to technique itself: rich impasto, raised brushwork, and free, sometimes incised lines in the paint. Beneath compositions that appear calmer and more classical, a highly personal exploration of material and light vibration remains evident.

This Still Life with Strawberries and Flowers belongs to this phase. The reds of the fruit and flowers, the whites of the ceramics, and the greys of the background are built up through a free and highly material brushwork, characteristic of Déziré’s mature style.

Presented in a simple wooden frame.