Artwork
Kirsebær i en frugtskål. Cività d'Antino
Kirsebær i en frugtskål. Cività d'Antino is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Poul Simon Christiansen. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Created in 1905, this oil painting presents a solitary bowl brimming with cherries set against a plain blue backdrop.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The overall arrangement conveys a sense of domestic tranquility and the quiet dignity of everyday objects elevated through artistic attention.
The painting depicts a still life centered on a ceramic bowl filled with cherries, arranged alongside other fruit. The composition emphasizes the vivid red of the cherries against the muted tones of the bowl and surrounding fruit, creating a contrast that draws attention to the ripeness and abundance of the harvest. Cherries in European still-life traditions often symbolize fleeting pleasure or the transience of life, though in this work the emphasis appears to rest on the simple, tangible beauty of the fruit and the craftsmanship of the ceramic vessel.
The overall arrangement conveys a sense of domestic tranquility and the quiet dignity of everyday objects elevated through artistic attention.
Technique & Style
Kirsebær i en frugtskål. Cività d'Antino is an oil painting executed on canvas, a support that accommodates its substantial square format of 265 by 265 centimetres. The work is classified as a still life, with the depicted subject, cherries arranged in a fruit bowl, rendered in oil paint, a medium consistent with the painterly handling typical of early twentieth-century Scandinavian still life practice.
The large, evenly proportioned canvas suggests a composition built around a single, centrally placed motif rather than a complex multi-object arrangement.
The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where its condition and presentation reflect standard museum stewardship of oil on canvas works of this scale and period.
History & Provenance
Poul Simon Christiansen created the oil painting Kirsebær i en frugtskål. Cività d'Antino in 1905. Executed on canvas, the still life depicts cherries within a bowl. The work is currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains located.
Overview
Created in 1905, this oil painting presents a solitary bowl brimming with cherries set against a plain blue backdrop. The composition is straightforward, focusing on the fruit’s rich hues and the tactile surface of the bowl, while a rough wooden table supports the scene.
Context
Produced during a period when Danish painters were absorbing ideas from French modernists such as Gauguin and Van Gogh, the piece reflects a synthesis of domestic subject matter with a bold, colour‑driven approach characteristic of the Colourist movement.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Poul Simon Christiansen, frequently referred to as Poul S. Christiansen (20 October 1855, Rolfsted, Funen – 14 November 1933, Copenhagen) was a Danish painter who developed a Colourist style under Kristian Zahrtmann and…
