Nature Morte.
With Dutch and Flemish art…
‘Still Life’ was born.
Stilleven it was called.
It took the French to come along
with Nature Morte,
which speaks of death
and is more accurate.
The dried out lemon, pomegranate,
The decomposing apples.
The mildew, shrivelled pear and plums,
They all succumb to transmutation.
The sap is gone….and yet…
…a liveliness continues on ….
Another form is born.
Nothing remains the same.
Not even Death
which disappears before our eyes…
But…locked in microscopic particles
…something survives.
And that’s another kind of life.
Kristine Byrne. 30th Sept. 2019