Large-Scale Provençal Jar Composition on Burlap by Michèle Alcaraz - 39½" x 48"

This large-scale contemporary still life by Michèle Alcaraz, a deeply rooted Provençal painter trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence and Marseille-Luminy, is executed in oil directly on coarse burlap. Born and raised in the South of France and working from her studio in Cabriès, Alcaraz (b.1957) began painting at the age of twelve under the guidance of Joseph Stamboulian. Exhibiting throughout Provence since 2008, including at the Musée Edgar Melik in Cabriès, she has developed a distinctive body of work centred on the humble utilitarian objects of rural Provence.

Here, a group of confit pots or Provençal jars, and cylindrical vessels is composed in strong, simplified volumes across an expansive format, their bold silhouettes lending the arrangement both rhythm and quiet authority. The sunlit palette of ochre, saffron, terracotta, cream, and deep umber evokes limewashed walls and the warmth of Mediterranean light. The word “Charrier,” preserved from the original agricultural sack beneath the paint, anchors the composition in a quiet authenticity, subtly revealing the layered history and material origins embedded within the work. The confident palette-knife impasto and exposed burlap edges lend rich texture and rustic character. The reverse is inscribed “Janvier 2026, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue,” along with the dimensions 120 x 100 cm and the title De Jarres et De Pots…, indicating the place and date associated with the work.

Intimate in subject yet commanding in scale, the painting carries a quiet strength. Its sunlit palette of ochres and terracottas, combined with its richly textured surface, brings warmth, depth, and the enduring spirit of Provence into an interior, softening contemporary lines while complementing more traditional settings with equal confidence. 

A further selection of Michele Alcaraz’s paintings is available for purchase here.