Still Life with Oranges
Artist: Raphaelle Peale (American, 1774-1825)
Date: about 1818
Dimensions:
Frame: 26 1/2 × 30 3/8 × 2 3/8 in. (67.3 × 77.2 × 6 cm)
Medium: oil on wood panel
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott
Object number: 1951.498
Label Text:Raphaelle Peale was the first American artist to specialize in still life paintings. The simple arrangement and realistic description of textures and light make this humble collection of food and drink a feast for the eyes. A soft but direct light accents the different surface textures and reflective qualities of the glass, ceramic glaze, waxy leaves, and orange rinds (the spiraling peel is perhaps a visual pun on his name). By setting the objects against a partially lit background, Peale enhanced their three-dimensionality and volume. The diagonal thrust of the twig and the various directions of the curling leaves also suggest depth. The realism recalls similar details in 17th-century Dutch still life paintings, examples of which Peale certainly saw exhibited in his native Philadelphia.
Peale came from a distinguished family of artists. His father, painter Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), established the first art gallery in the United States in 1782 and named several of his many sons and daughters for famous painters in the hopes that they would pursue art. Some did, including Raphaelle, Rembrandt, Titian, and Angelica Kauffmann Peale.
Peale came from a distinguished family of artists. His father, painter Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), established the first art gallery in the United States in 1782 and named several of his many sons and daughters for famous painters in the hopes that they would pursue art. Some did, including Raphaelle, Rembrandt, Titian, and Angelica Kauffmann Peale.
Not on view
In Collection(s)