Artwork
Still Life with a Vase of Flowers, Melon, Peaches, and Grapes
Still Life with a Vase of Flowers, Melon, Peaches, and Grapes is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny-Damas. It dates from 1790 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created in 1790, this oil painting presents a tabletop arrangement of fruit and blossoms.
About this work
Technique & Style
Handling is precise, with smooth transitions in modeling and careful attention to the translucency of petals and the bloom on fruit skins.
Executed in oil on canvas in 1790, the work measures 46 cm in height and 55.5 cm in width. The composition exemplifies the refined still-life tradition of late eighteenth-century France, combining a delicate glass vase of flowers with ripe melon, peaches, and grapes arranged on a polished surface. Handling is precise, with smooth transitions in modeling and careful attention to the translucency of petals and the bloom on fruit skins.
The palette favors soft, naturalistic hues, pale florals against warm ochres and greens, while subdued lighting subtly mutes the shadows to emphasize volumetric form.
The paint appears evenly applied without visible impasto, suggesting careful glazing and scumbling to achieve luminous passages.
History & Provenance
Charlotte Eustache Sophie de Fuligny-Damas painted Still Life with a Vase of Flowers, Melon, Peaches, and Grapes in 1790, as documented in the artwork's catalog record and confirmed by its inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The painting is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 46 cm in height and 55.5 cm in width. It is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Specific commission details and earlier provenance prior to museum acquisition are not documented in the available sources, and no exhibition history is recorded.
Overview
Created in 1790, this oil painting presents a tabletop arrangement of fruit and blossoms. A gilded vase holds white and violet flowers, while a halved melon displays vivid red flesh and dark seeds. Nearby sit two soft-skinned peaches, a cluster of green grapes, and assorted leaves and dried blooms, composing a quiet study of everyday objects.
Subject & Meaning
The work exemplifies the still‑life tradition of highlighting the transient beauty of natural items. By juxtaposing the ripe, succulent fruit with delicate floral forms, the composition invites contemplation of abundance, decay, and the sensory pleasures of sight and texture, common themes in late‑eighteenth‑century domestic art.
Context
Produced during the waning years of Rococo, the piece balances ornamental elegance with a growing interest in natural observation. While the style retains the movement’s decorative flair, the emphasis on accurate detail anticipates the more restrained Neoclassical sensibilities that would dominate French art in the early nineteenth century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny-Damas
Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny-Damas, more commonly known as the Marquise de Grollier (21 December 1741, Paris – 1828, Épinay-sur-Seine), was a French flower painter.
