Three Chefs at Work

Catalogue note

Three figures in tall white toques bend over a pale table, their hands busy with red chillies, a green spiral and pale produce against a deep shadowed background. The tonal scheme is stark, brilliant whites and clear accents of red and green set against an almost black surround, and the brushing is direct and confident. The heads-down concentration gives the scene a ritual, almost devotional dignity, with the middle figure forming a still axis between the outer two.