In Paris, Van Gogh focuses his efforts on experiments with color, trying to make his palette cleaner and more vivid. The easiest way was to realize this idea by depicting flowers and fruits, because their subtle natural shades make one pay attention to the colors chosen, avoid dark, dark areas and tend to clean the color.
Still life with lemons on a plate became one of such exercises. As in all still lifes of that period, Van Gogh tried to avoid the static: slightly raised edge of the plate brings the composition closer to the diagonal line.
Van Gogh emphasizes the combination of contrasting colors of tablecloth and lemons, although here it is not as bright as in some other still lifes of the Paris period. Perhaps, the picture was painted under artificial lighting, so in the light parts warm colors predominate, which contrast with the bright cold colors of the shadows. A dark brown background visually restricts the composition, allowing you to concentrate your eyes on the bright yellow lemons.
Van Gogh paid little attention to the correctness of the forms. Volumes are modeled by vigorous stroke strokes. This small picture was written as a quick sketch, the purpose of which was to grab and convey the color ratios of objects.
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