Artwork
Pears
Pears is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Édouard Manet. It dates from 1880 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right: Manet
About this work
Technique & Style
Executed in 1880, this still life by Édouard Manet is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 19.05 cm in height and 24.13 cm in width. As a late-career piece, it exemplifies the artist's engagement with the still-life genre, focusing on the formal arrangement of fruit. The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
History & Provenance
Pears entered the collection of Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia, by 1932, having previously passed through the Paris dealer Bernheim-Jeune.
Painted in 1880, this still life entered the collection of M. Ballacano in 1904 before passing to Mme Henriette Bepoix. It was later acquired by Bernheim-Jeune in Paris and remained in that gallery until 1932, when it was listed as work no. 404 in Manet by Paul Jamot and Georges Wildenstein. The painting was subsequently owned by Paul Mellon, who bequeathed it to the National Gallery of Art in 1999, with a life interest reserved for his wife, Rachel Lambert Mellon.
Pears entered the collection of Paul Mellon of Upperville, Virginia, by 1932, having previously passed through the Paris dealer Bernheim-Jeune. Mellon bequeathed the painting in 1999 to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., with a life interest reserved to his wife, Rachel Lambert Mellon. The work is held in the National Gallery of Art's collection.
It was catalogued by Paul Jamot and Georges Wildenstein in their 1932 monograph on Manet as no. 404.
Earlier owners recorded in the provenance include M. Ballacano in 1904 and Mme Henriette Bepoix.
Overview
Edouard Manet’s oil painting Pears, executed in 1880, presents a modest still‑life arrangement. The work measures a modest size and features a plain brown backdrop that isolates the objects, emphasizing their form and colour without narrative distraction.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas depicts two ripe pears resting on a table. The left fruit is slightly taller and displays a muted yellow‑brown hue, while the right one shows a subtle reddish cast. The objects are rendered with quiet attention to their natural variations, inviting contemplation of everyday materiality.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Édouard Manet was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.
