Artwork
Still Life with Pipe and Matches
Still Life with Pipe and Matches is an unspecified 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
Technique & Style
Still Life with Pipe and Matches is a painting classified as a still life, produced by Alexandre Gabriel Decamps in 1858 in France.
Still Life with Pipe and Matches is a painting classified as a still life, produced by Alexandre Gabriel Decamps in 1858 in France. The work is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art under accession number 1980.254.1. Its physical format is a vertical panel measuring 63.0 cm in height by 38.0 cm in width.
The sources document the work's classification, dimensions, and provenance, but provide no specific information regarding the medium, support, brushwork, palette, or condition. As a result, no further claims about technique or style can be grounded in the available evidence.
History & Provenance
Still Life with Pipe and Matches was created in 1858 by the French artist Alexandre Gabriel Decamps. Produced in France, the work is classified as a still life painting. It eventually entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is held under the accession number 1980.254.1.
No specific details regarding a commission or an intermediate ownership chain prior to its museum acquisition are provided in the available records.
Overview
Alexandre Gabriel Decamps completed Still Life with Pipe and Matches in 1858. This painting, now part of The Cleveland Museum of Art's collection, presents a quiet domestic scene. It features everyday objects arranged on a surface, but subtly incorporates a moralizing message.
The work exemplifies Decamps's engagement with genre scenes and still life, often imbuing them with deeper meaning beyond mere representation.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a distinctively curved pipe, featuring a wooden stem and a prominent orange bowl, resting alongside a small red box and a vase holding matches. Behind these items, a plain wall bears the Latin inscription "Utere ne abutere" in gold lettering. This phrase, translating to "Use, but do not abuse," combines with the unusual pipe shape to convey a subtle admonition for temperance and moderation in daily life.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works.
- Still Life with Pipe and Matches and Still Life with Herring, Bread, and Cheese (pair)
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Still life with wineglass, beer glass and pipe
Still Life with Pass Glass