Still Life with Flowers and Fruits

This painting contains a cornucopia of fruits: white and blue grapes, chestnuts, peaches, plums, hazelnuts and walnuts, cherries, medlars, blackberries and gooseberries, an orange and a half-peeled lemon. Furthermore, one can spy honeysuckle, ears of wheat or spelt, a poppy, a peony, a type of campanula known as ‘Venus’s-looking-glass’, a tulip, and even a spider and snails. The fruits all…

This painting contains a cornucopia of fruits: white and blue grapes, chestnuts, peaches, plums, hazelnuts and walnuts, cherries, medlars, blackberries and gooseberries, an orange and a half-peeled lemon. Furthermore, one can spy honeysuckle, ears of wheat or spelt, a poppy, a peony, a type of campanula known as ‘Venus’s-looking-glass’, a tulip, and even a spider and snails. The fruits all belong to different seasons, suggesting that the painting is an artificial arrangement. A vague image of a Venetian goblet filled with white wine is visible against the neutral background. The studio windows are reflected in the glass of the lid. To the right of the ornamental cup sits a fluted glass of red wine. Here too, one can discern the reflections of the windows.