Artwork
Still Life with Herring, Bread, and Cheese
Still Life with Herring, Bread, and Cheese is an oil painting by the Realist artist Alexandre Gabriel Decamps. It dates from 1858 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Executed in oil on canvas in 1858, the work was created in France and later entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on display.
The painting depicts a modest still‑life arrangement of pickled herring, a loaf of bread and a wedge of cheese placed on a tabletop. These foods constitute the iconographic elements that Decamps chose to emphasize, reflecting the everyday provisions recorded in mid‑19th‑century French still‑life practice. Executed in oil on canvas in 1858, the work was created in France and later entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on display.
As a genre piece, the composition underscores the aesthetic interest in ordinary sustenance, presenting a quiet tableau that invites contemplation of material comfort without overt narrative or allegorical content.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on canvas, the painting measures 63.0 × 38.0 cm. Decamps employs a subdued, earthy palette with dense, painterly brushwork that emphasizes the textures of the herring, bread, and cheese. The handling is broad and expressive, with visible impasto in the highlights, while the composition is tightly cropped and intimate, directing focus to the humble still-life elements. The dark, neutral background and dramatic chiaroscuro lend a sense of weight and material presence, characteristic of Decamps’s realist tendencies.
History & Provenance
Still Life with Herring, Bread, and Cheese was painted in 1858 by Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps in France, executed in oil on canvas. The work is a typical example of the artist’s mid‑century still‑life practice, reflecting his interest in modest domestic subjects.
The painting entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is recorded under accession number 1980.254.2. No earlier owners or commission details are documented in the available sources, so the known provenance begins with its acquisition by the museum.
Still Life with Herring, Bread, and Cheese is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The institution assigns the work the accession number 1980.254.2. Created in 1858 by Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, this oil painting on canvas measures 63.0 cm in height and 38.0 cm in width.
The available records confirm its location within the museum but do not list specific past exhibitions or loan history for this piece.
Overview
Alexandre Gabriel Decamps completed Still Life with Herring, Bread, and Cheese in 1858, utilizing oil paint to depict a modest arrangement of food. This painting exemplifies the artist's engagement with the still life genre during the mid-19th century. It is presently part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art, where it offers insight into the period's artistic approaches to everyday subjects.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works.
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