Table Assembly with Rusted Tins

	Artist: James Cumming
	Title: Table Assembly with Rusted Tins
	Year: c. 1976
	Medium: oil on canvas
	Dimensions:
	Suggested topic: still life
	Source: RSA Diploma Collection
	View full screen image of this work
	Open print version of this work
© the Cumming Family
Description: James Cumming worked on immaculately painted landscapes, figures and still life paintings from his home in the Borders.Cumming painted a series of still life “assemblies”, of which Table Assembly with Rusted Tins is an example. The artist may have first observed these objects in the kitchen or studio. Then, elements such as the outlines of stoppers and decanters, and profiles of jugs were overlapped and placed within a table-top like boundary. The artist has used a limited palette to explore structure and pattern as formal values. The three-dimensional objects have been presented as two-dimensional shapes showing the painting's Cubist origins. Cumming has employed the pleasing linear qualities of objects which caught his eye. But he has not tried to depict them through realism, and has instead focused on their outlines to create a satisfying arrangement of forms.The tonal range is quite dark, with many deep earthy tones making up the palette. Sharp straight edges and dry, lightly textured surfaces dominate in this painting. So, the subject of this painting is not so much the objects themselves, but the visual impact of their relationships in terms of shape, tone and colour.The composition is very tight and strict. The table-top creates an irregular shape which contains all the objects. The dark background frames the arrangements of shapes at the centre of the image. Curves and diagonals gently intersect. Objects sometimes appear to pass through other objects. The reddish earthy tones suggest the rusted tins of the title. Do you think rusted tins are common items to find in still life paintings? Why do you think Cumming was inspired to use them?