Still Life on a Balcony is a prime example of Tutundjian's Surrealist work, in which he explores the themes of disconnection and fragmentation. In 1933 he abandoned his abstract work and embraced the tenets of Surrealism, adopting the figurative style that was the hallmark of René Magritte and Salvador Dalí's painting. Although never becoming a formal member of the group, he was closely associated with André Breton and exhibited with the Surrealists throughout the 1940s and 1950s. As the critic Gerard Bertrand notes in his essay on the artist, Tutundjian’s visual metaphors are less explicit than those of Dalí. Much of the charm of the Armenian artist’s work derives from the subtle Indian and Persian influences one can trace in the details of his work. In the present work this influence is reflected in the patterning on the chair and tablecloth, for example.
[Sotheby’s, London - Oil on canvas, 97 x 130 cm]