Still Life with Grapes, Chestnuts, Melons, and a Marble Cube

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Still Life with Grapes, Chestnuts, Melons, and a Marble Cube

Artist Antoine Berjon (French, 1754 - 1843)

Place of OriginFrance

Dateabout 1800

DimensionsH: 12 15/16 in. (32.8 cm); W: 16 5/6 in. (41.4 cm)

MediumOil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by Dr. and Mrs. James G. Ravin

Object number

2015.4

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 31

Label TextAntoine Berjon presents the viewer with a spare grouping of a bunch of red grapes, three chestnuts (one bursting from its pod), two ripe melons, and a very large marble cube, all arranged on a marble ledge against a dark background. Yet such a seemingly simple arrangement engages the eye in so many complex and subtle ways. The painting is composed of contrasts and comparisons: the artist juxtaposes small, smooth, red grapes with large, rough, ridged melons. Spiky chestnut pods contrast with the sheen of a pair of exposed chestnuts. Unexpectedly, amongst these fruits and nuts of the natural world, Berjon includes a pristine, white marble cube, shaped by human hands. This curious juxtaposition is emphasized by straight lines and right angles paired with curvaceous and irregular shapes and forms. Further scrutiny brings our attention to the light falling on the objects from the right and the resulting shadows on the ledge and the cube; we even detect reflected color. Characteristic of any compelling still life, the painting encourages the eye to observe and the mind to contemplate. The act of viewing is rendered mesmerizing.Published ReferencesVaria 2014: peintures et dessins, de Soreda a Balthus, Lyon, Michel Descours Galerie, 2014, pp. 58-59, repr. (col.) no. 18.

"Still Life with Grapes, Chestnuts, Melon and a Marble Cube", Toledo Medicine, vol. 106, no. 3, Summer 2015, p. 7, repr. (col.) p. 7, cover.