Irma Stern 1894-1966

All elements of this street scene are exaggerated: the perspective is distorted and the building and figures are reduced to basic shapes, while the vivid primary colours heighten the emotion of the scene. The artist has deliberately ignored the realities of the natural world in search of a more expressive type of art. Stern's brush work shows the angularity and planar modelling of the prevailing German expressionist style, inspired by her mentor Max Pechstein. A colourist, Stern predominantly used oils, but also produced thousands of drawings, graphic works and monotypes, sculptures and ceramics. Summer Morning in Madeira is part of a late body of picturesque subjects which include harbours, markets, flower sellers, and harvest scenes across the Mediterranean and South Africa, in which Stern embraced a rich and sensual palette and painted in a somewhat looser, flatter style.