Artwork
Still Life with Fruit
Still Life with Fruit is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Henri Fantin-Latour. It dates from 1893 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
If you're interested in learning more about the artist who created this beautiful still life, look up Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836–1904).
This painting depicts a still life arrangement of fruit in a basket and on a plate. The basket, made of wicker, contains apples and leaves, while the plate holds grapes, pears, and a fig. The fruit is painted in a realistic style, with attention to detail and texture.
The background of the painting is dark, which helps to highlight the colors and shapes of the fruit. The overall effect is one of simplicity and elegance, with the fruit arranged in a harmonious and balanced composition.
If you're interested in learning more about the artist who created this beautiful still life, look up Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836–1904).
Subject & Meaning
Henri Fantin-Latour's Still Life with Fruit, created in 1885, is a painting that depicts an arrangement of fruit. As a work within the still life genre, the subject matter focuses entirely on these natural forms rendered in oil on canvas. The composition presents the fruit as the central visual element, characteristic of the artist's approach to the genre during this period.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 28.5 cm in height by 42 cm in width. Its surface demonstrates the characteristic handling of oil paint, with layered brushwork that defines form and subtle gradations of tone typical of late 19th-century French still life. The composition centers on a carefully arranged assortment of fruit, rendered with attention to texture and light, reflecting Fantin-Latour's precise yet expressive approach to genre painting.
History & Provenance
The painting Still Life with Fruit was created by Henri Fantin-Latour in 1885 as an oil on canvas work. It entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it remains on public display. The artwork has been part of the museum's holdings since its acquisition, reflecting a continuous ownership chain under the institution's care.
Still Life with Fruit is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is located as part of that institution's holdings. The painting, executed in oil on canvas in 1885, measures 28.5 by 42 centimeters. No specific inventory or accession number, nor any documented exhibition history, is provided in the available sources.
Overview
Henri Fantin‑Latour’s Still Life with Fruit, executed in oil in 1893, presents a modest arrangement of assorted fruit against a deep, muted backdrop. The composition centers on a wicker basket brimming with apples and foliage, accompanied by a plate bearing grapes, pears and a fig. The work exemplifies the artist’s precise, restrained approach to still‑life painting during the late nineteenth‑century French art scene.
Context
Produced during the waning years of the Impressionist era, the painting aligns with a broader French interest in still‑life subjects that combined academic precision with a softer, atmospheric treatment of light. Fantin‑Latour’s approach bridges the detailed realism of earlier traditions and the looser, mood‑driven sensibilities of his contemporaries.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ignace Henri Jean Theodore Fantin-Latour (French pronunciation:; 14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.
