Still Life with Grapes, Chestnuts, Melons, and a Marble Cube
Artist: Antoine Berjon (French, 1754 - 1843)
Date: about 1800
Dimensions:
H: 12 15/16 in. (32.8 cm); W: 16 5/6 in. (41.4 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. James G. Ravin
Object number: 2015.4
DescriptionA bunch of red grapes, three chestnuts, one bursting from its pod, two ripe melons, and, curiously, a very large marble cube, all arranged on a marble ledge.
A bunch of red grapes, three chestnuts, one bursting from its pod, two ripe melons, and, curiously, a very large marble cube, all arranged on a marble ledge – Berjon gives the viewer no more. But what a rewarding and sustaining visual experience it is. Doubtless the artist was striving for, and I submit even successfully approximated, the sublime compositions achieved by his great French compatriot of a couple of generations preceding him, Chardin. Such complexly simple arrangements engage us in so many subtle ways. It truly takes extended looking to fully recognize and absorb what Berjon has painted. He juxtaposes small, smooth, red grapes with large melons having gnarly, ridged and crenulated rinds. Spiky chestnut pods contrast with the sheen of a pair of chestnuts already exposed. And there, surprisingly, amongst these fruits and nuts of the natural world the artist also includes a pristine, perfect, white marble cube. Extraordinary. Further scrutiny brings one’s attention to the light falling on the objects from the right and the ensuing shadows on the ledge and the cube. We detect reflected color, too. More: straight lines and right angles distinguish themselves paired as they are with curvaceous and irregular shapes and forms. The act of viewing is mesmerizing. Characteristic of any compelling still life from any national school of any era, the eye observes and the mind contemplates. Time ceases to be relevant.
A bunch of red grapes, three chestnuts, one bursting from its pod, two ripe melons, and, curiously, a very large marble cube, all arranged on a marble ledge – Berjon gives the viewer no more. But what a rewarding and sustaining visual experience it is. Doubtless the artist was striving for, and I submit even successfully approximated, the sublime compositions achieved by his great French compatriot of a couple of generations preceding him, Chardin. Such complexly simple arrangements engage us in so many subtle ways. It truly takes extended looking to fully recognize and absorb what Berjon has painted. He juxtaposes small, smooth, red grapes with large melons having gnarly, ridged and crenulated rinds. Spiky chestnut pods contrast with the sheen of a pair of chestnuts already exposed. And there, surprisingly, amongst these fruits and nuts of the natural world the artist also includes a pristine, perfect, white marble cube. Extraordinary. Further scrutiny brings one’s attention to the light falling on the objects from the right and the ensuing shadows on the ledge and the cube. We detect reflected color, too. More: straight lines and right angles distinguish themselves paired as they are with curvaceous and irregular shapes and forms. The act of viewing is mesmerizing. Characteristic of any compelling still life from any national school of any era, the eye observes and the mind contemplates. Time ceases to be relevant.
On view
In Collection(s)