Still life with a profile of Mimi - Meijer de Haan

A Post-Impressionist study by Meijer de Haan, featuring a tabletop of fruit alongside the profile of a young girl.

Meijer de Haan, a Dutch painter who spent significant time in Brittany, produced this work during his association with the Pont-Aven school. The composition features a tabletop arrangement of fruit, juxtaposed with the partial profile of a young girl, identified as Mimi. The application of paint is deliberate, with visible brushwork that creates a textured surface across the tablecloth and the background.

The palette relies on cool blues and greens, which contrast with the warmer tones of the fruit and the figure. De Haan employs a flattened perspective, a characteristic of the period, which draws attention to the decorative qualities of the arrangement rather than traditional depth. The inclusion of the figure adds a narrative element to the still life, shifting the focus from a purely inanimate study to a domestic scene.

De Haan was a close associate of Paul Gauguin, and this influence is visible in the simplified forms and the expressive use of colour. The work reflects the experimental nature of the late nineteenth-century avant-garde, where artists moved away from strict realism toward more subjective interpretations of their subjects. The lighting is soft, suggesting an interior setting, and the overall mood is quiet and contemplative. This piece offers a view into the artist's domestic life in Brittany, capturing a moment of stillness through a lens of stylistic innovation. The focus on the interaction between the fruit and the child's profile creates a balanced composition that remains engaging to the modern viewer.