(Vienna 1861–1945)
Still life with pots of flowers and apples, circa 1930, monogrammed C M, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 cm, framed, (K)

Handwritten note verso on the stretcher: I Stilleben etc., inscribed Prof. Moll

Exhibition label:
Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung 1940 im Haus der Deutschen Kunst zu München/Einlieferungsbuch 502/Kiste 256/Scholz/Stoß 21

This work will be included in the catalogue raisonné being prepared by Dr Cornelia Cabuk, Belvedere Vienna.

Provenance:
Private Ownership, Vienna
Dorotheum Vienna, 619th art auction, 17 March 1978, Lot 1182
Private Collection, Vienna - formerly temporary loan to Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (label verso)

Description from the Belvedere card file index:
the painting belongs to a group of still lifes depicting foliage plants, painted by Carl Moll circa 1930. In this variant, he creates perspectival space using a constellation of objects arranged diagonally across the table top, overlaying them in various places in an apparently casual manner. The foliate plant and the mass of tubers cannot be seen in their entirety within the picture frame, the front edge of the table top also being cut away at the lower picture edge. The higher viewpoint from which we see the table top, in comparison with the other still life from this period, creates a flatter painterly effect as a whole, which is further heightened by the intense colouration, the stark blue hues of the shadows and the artist’s temperamental brushwork.

Compare:
Carl Moll, Seine Freunde/Sein Leben/Sein Werk, Verlag Galerie Welz, 1985, plate 27, Still life with blue bottle (held by Vienna Museum)
plate 28 Still life with pineapple