Artwork
Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Pears, Grapes, Figs and Birds
Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Pears, Grapes, Figs and Birds is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Tommaso Realfonso. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Created circa 1650, this oil painting presents a dense arrangement of fruit and birds against a dark backdrop.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The depicted subjects include pomegranates, apples, pears, grapes, figs, and birds, gathered together as a single composition.
The painting presents a still life arrangement of fruit and birds on canvas. The depicted subjects include pomegranates, apples, pears, grapes, figs, and birds, gathered together as a single composition. Within the still-life tradition, the combination of ripe fruit and birds typically carries associations of abundance, the bounty of nature, and the transience of earthly pleasures, while the pomegranate in particular has long been linked to themes of fertility and resurrection in European art.
The mixture of cultivated orchard fruits with figs and birds also evokes the richness of a Mediterranean harvest, a common visual motif in seventeenth-century still-life painting.
The work belongs to the still-life genre, in which such carefully observed natural objects are arranged to convey both sensory pleasure and symbolic reflection on the cycles of growth, ripeness, and decay.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, measuring 50 × 67 cm. Handling is consistent with mid-seventeenth-century Neapolitan still-life practice, employing carefully blended glazes to model form and heighten luminosity. Pigment application is smooth yet layered, yielding a polished surface that emphasizes the tactile qualities of fruit skins and foliage.
Composition is structured around a low horizon, with fruits and vessels arranged in a shallow, planar arrangement. Stylistic features include a restrained palette dominated by warm ochres and deep greens, punctuated by the bright crimson of pomegranates and the dark sheen of figs. Subtle chiaroscuro defines volume without dramatic contrast, aligning with Realfonso’s characteristic restraint in modeling and edge definition.
History & Provenance
The work was created in 1650 by Tommaso Realfonso, catalogued under the title Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Pears, Grapes, Figs and Birds. By the time of its cataloguing, the painting entered the collection of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, where it remains held. The painting’s dimensions are 67.0 cm in width by 50.0 cm in height, as recorded in the museum’s documentation.
Still Life with Pomegranates, Apples, Pears, Grapes, Figs and Birds by Tommaso Realfonso is held in the permanent collection of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. The painting, executed in oil on canvas and dated 1650, is catalogued within that institution's holdings.
No specific accession number or detailed exhibition history is documented in the available sources for this work.
Overview
Created circa 1650, this oil painting presents a dense arrangement of fruit and birds against a dark backdrop. Apples, pears, grapes, figs, and a split pomegranate dominate the composition, while two birds perch on the left and a third hovers above. The work exemplifies the Italian Baroque still‑life tradition, emphasizing material richness and tactile realism.
Context
During the mid‑17th century, Italian still‑life painting increasingly focused on detailed observation of everyday objects, reflecting both scientific curiosity and the decorative tastes of aristocratic patrons. Realfonso’s composition aligns with this trend, integrating a rich palette and careful spatial organization that echo contemporary developments in Baroque visual culture.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Tommaso Realfonso (c. 1677 in Naples – after 1743) was an Italian painter of the 18th century, specializing studies of still-life paintings of flower and fruit pieces. He also painted vedute or landscapes. He was also…
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