Vintage French Strawberry Still Life Oil Painting

We found this original oil painting during our latest buying trip to France and couldn't resist the subject. Rather than a formal still life, it has a wonderfully relaxed, almost naïve quality, with the strawberries painted loosely in rich reds against a soft cream and earthy background.

The artist has filled the composition with fruit, allowing the bowl of strawberries to dominate the picture while a few escape onto the table around it. Deep green leaves and the blue edging of the dish break up the reds, while the little bowl and spoon in the background give the scene the feeling of an everyday kitchen table.

Likely dating from around the mid-20th century, the painting is signed or initialled in the lower right corner and remains in a very simple wooden frame. We particularly like the slightly homespun quality of it — it feels cheerful and unpretentious rather than overly polished.

A great little piece to prop on open kitchen shelving or a dresser, or hang amongst a collection of vintage paintings and plates.

Good vintage condition with age-related wear to both the painting and wooden frame. The frame has knocks, marks and areas of wear consistent with its age, all of which we have left as found.

It's such a happy little painting. The abundance of red strawberries immediately catches your eye, but it's the loose, slightly naïve way they've been painted that gives the piece its appeal. We'd put it straight into a kitchen.