Painting analysis of Jean Helion's 1948 painting "Grande Citrouillerie" (Big Pumpkin Event)

Rather than a traditional harvest painting, as its title might suggest, "Grande Citrouillerie," or, in English translation the "Big Pumpkin Event," has the appearance of a poster or advertisement painted in an art deco fashion typical of the 19th century. The painting shows the form of a twisted, half cut open pumpkin with its inner seeds and hanging pulp revealed. The painting's colors are rich and autumnal in tone. The palate of the painting is made up of brilliant oranges, reds, yellows and burnt sienna. These warm tones convey the sense of the pumpkin's fall harvest season as well as form the lines of the fruit itself. The colors create a sense of seasonality and ripeness, as well as suggest the painting's subject of a ripe pumpkin. The colors' warmth, however, stands in contrast to the 'advertised' nature...
[ View Full Essay]