A fine still life with bread, bottles, bowls and cloth by Danish artist, Herman Vedel (1875-1948). It’s beautifully stark and strangely atmospheric.

It seems to borrow a little from 17th-century Dutch still lifes - yet it deliberately lacks the exuberance, wealth and luscious colours. Here we see a simple table with a fresh loaf of bread along with a bowl perhaps containing soup. It’s a modest meal - accompanied by oil, water and wine. There’s every chance that this is a view into Vedel’s own kitchen and maybe it’s his supper.

Herman Vedel was the leading Danish portraitist of his generation. He trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and many of his works are held in public collections.

The painting is monogrammed in the lower right and housed within a frame that’s probably the original.

Medium: Oil on wood
Overall size: 38” x 29” / 97cm x 74cm
Year of creation: c. 1940
Provenance: Denmark
Condition: Artwork in fine condition and recently cleaned. Frame with some age-related wear and darkening in the corners.
Artist’s auction highlight: £3,758 achieved for ‘Interior’ in 1990.