Colin McCahon
Still life with altar III

Artwork Detail
When the still life regained favour as a subject at the turn of the 20th century, it was for its formal properties rather than its symbolism. The genre allowed artists like Cézanne to explore the limits of painting within a tightly defined structure.
While McCahon uses a simplified visual language which follows the tradition of Cézanne, his still life objects are imbued with meaning and allusion in ways that are more in touch with the symbolic concerns of the 17th and 18th centuries. (McCahon's Visible Mysteries, 2004)
- Title
- Still life with altar III
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- 1967
- Medium
- acrylic on board
- Dimensions
- 530 x 996 mm
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, on loan from a private collection
- Accession no
- L1998/28/23
- Other ID
- cm000608 Catalogue Number
- Copyright
- Copying restrictions apply
- Department
- New Zealand Art
- Display status
- Not on display
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