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
Label Text:Antoine 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.
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.
On view
In Collection(s)