ava double face - flower basket double

Found on a wall in Antwerp, this image brings the colourful world of Belgian painter Gustave-Philippe Cousin back into the room. Cousin was known for his bright, sometimes naïve visual language and for his work with reverse glass painting, also called églomisé. In the 1960s, the Belgian press even described him as a kind of Belgian Douanier Rousseau.   A basket of flowers, a tall vase, pink curtains, a blue sky, a green field outside the window, and a table that seems to have dressed up for the occasion. Everything is slightly too much, slightly too cheerful, and completely charming. The flowers do not behave like a polite still life. They take over the scene. Reds, yellows, blues, pinks, greens, and soft whites all competing for attention without ruining the mood. Cousin’s world feels generous, decorative, almost childlike in the best possible sense. Nothing cynical. Nothing trying too hard to be clever. The painting has that rare confidence of work made with pleasure. A little theatrical. A little domestic. A little impossible to ignore. Even the curtains seem excited to be there. On textile, the image becomes pure colour and optimism. Floral shapes, painted details, and the soft naïve perspective create a print with immediate warmth and personality. A room, a bouquet, a window, and apparently no fear whatsoever of being joyful.

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