Pansies (Bernice Cross, 1936)

Identification of the Artwork and Artist

Pansies is an oil painting by Bernice Cross, executed in 1936. The work is held within the Phillips Collection.

Born in Iowa City, United States, Bernice Cross was an American painter and instructor whose career spanned five decades. Her practice often balanced realism with abstraction, frequently employing a whimsical spirit that remained sophisticated in its composition and use of color. Throughout her development, she explored various surface textures, building up layers of pigment with a brush and knife.

Visual Composition and Subject Matter

The composition centers on a bouquet of pansies held within a vase, an arrangement that occupies the majority of the frame. This classic still life is set against a shadowy, receding background of deep blacks, navy blues, and dark greens. These somber tones in the foliage and backdrop provide a sharp contrast to the flower petals, which appear in bright whites, yellows, and pale lavenders. The arrangement creates a tension between melancholy and sudden bursts of brightness.

Lighting emanates from the front, illuminating the faces of the flowers while leaving the surrounding space in shadow. The forms are defined by non-linear, organic lines and thick applications of paint rather than sharp outlines. Because the shapes are loosely defined and gestural, the subject maintains a sense of movement and vitality despite its static nature.

Technique and Artistic Style

The work is characterized by bold, impasto brushwork. Through a heavy impasto technique, visible ridges of paint create physical depth on the canvas. These thick applications of oil paint establish a highly tactile surface, where the medium itself becomes a structural element of the composition. The heavy medium is used to convey a sense of energy through vigorous, gestural brushstrokes.

The style is reminiscent of Expressionism. Rather than relying on sharp outlines, the forms are defined by organic, non-linear lines and the heavy application of pigment. This approach prioritizes the physical presence of the paint to create a sense of movement and vitality. The interplay of light and shadow is dictated by the texture of the ridges, which catch the light and emphasize the depth of the floral arrangement against the receding, shadowy background.