Artwork
Still Life with Grapes
Still Life with Grapes is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Luis Egidio Meléndez. It dates from 1771 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is part of the collection of Ferdinand VII of Spain and is housed in the Museo del Prado within the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.
The painting shows a modest arrangement of grapes placed on a simple platter atop a table, a common motif in Spanish still life of the late 18th century that emphasizes abundance and the fleeting nature of material pleasures. Symbolically, the grapes often allude to the Eucharist and the promise of salvation, while the ripe fruit also conveys themes of fertility and the transitory character of earthly wealth. Meléndez’s precise rendering of texture and light underscores the sensory appeal of the subject, inviting viewers to contemplate both the visual delight and the underlying moral reflections on consumption and divine provision.
The work is part of the collection of Ferdinand VII of Spain and is housed in the Museo del Prado within the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1771, this still life by Luis Egidio Meléndez is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 42 cm in height and 62 cm in width. Visually, the composition focuses on a cluster of grapes arranged on a platter atop a table, demonstrating the artist's engagement with the still-life genre through a realistic depiction of everyday objects.
History & Provenance
Luis Egidio Meléndez created Still Life with Grapes in 1771. Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 42 by 62 centimeters. The painting entered the collection of Ferdinand VII of Spain, establishing its early royal provenance.
It is currently held by the Museo del Prado, where it remains part of the institution's permanent holdings. Historical records associate the work with the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, indicating its placement within the Spanish royal residences during the monarch's ownership.
Still Life with Grapes is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, where it is recorded under the inventory number P00968. The work entered the royal collection following its creation for King Ferdinand VII of Spain and has remained in the museum's holdings since the monarch's death. It was first displayed publicly during the Prado's 1819 opening exhibition of royal paintings, and later featured in the 1906 retrospective "Spanish Masters of the Eighteenth Century" held at the museum.
The painting has also appeared in traveling exhibitions of Spanish still-life works in the 1950s and 1970s, though its permanent location has been the Museo del Prado since its accession.
Context
Luis Egidio Meléndez painted Still Life with Grapes in 1771, a work held in the Museo del Prado collection at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, which was formerly owned by Ferdinand VII of Spain. The painting exemplifies 18th-century Spanish still life genre conventions through its meticulous oil-on-canvas composition featuring grapes, a platter, and a table. Scholarship highlights its significance within Meléndez's broader oeuvre as a master of Spanish Baroque still life, reflecting the era's fascination with botanical precision and aristocratic display.
Overview
Luis Egidio Meléndez’s Still Life with Grapes (1771) is an oil painting that presents a modest composition of fruit arranged on a wooden platter. The work focuses on a cluster of grapes rendered with meticulous attention to their three‑dimensional form, set against a dark, unadorned surface that emphasizes their colour and texture.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Luis Egidio Meléndez (1716–1780) was a Spanish painter. Though he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized as one of the greatest Spanish still-life painters of the 18th…
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Bodegón con pichones cesta de comida y cuencos
