Back to gallery
Still Life with Apples, a Pear, and a Ceramic Portrait Jug

Art Appreciation

This still life presents a quietly captivating arrangement of apples, a pear, and a striking ceramic portrait jug, rendered with a textured brushwork that recalls the richly tactile quality of the objects themselves. The earthy palette—dotted with warm reds, greens, and yellows—breathes life into the scene, while the subtle interplay of shadows and highlights lends the composition depth and dimension. The portrait jug acts almost like a sentinel, its detailed shape and darkened tonality contrasting intriguingly with the round, vibrantly colored fruit, evoking a contemplative mood in an otherwise humble domestic setting.

The composition is balanced but not rigid; the fruits cascade naturally in the bowl, spilling slightly onto the softly draped cloth beneath. The background, punctuated by abstracted paintings or possibly tapestries, enriches the setting without distracting, reinforcing the quiet intimacy of the scene. The artist’s brushstrokes—sometimes sketchy, sometimes more deliberate—convey a sense of both immediacy and enduring stillness. The overall emotional impact is one of warmth mingled with mystery, a vivid reminder of everyday beauty infused with subtle symbolic resonance at the cusp of Post-Impressionist exploration.

Still Life with Apples, a Pear, and a Ceramic Portrait Jug

Paul Gauguin

Category:

Created:

1889

Likes:

0

Dimensions:

5072 × 3935 px
362 × 286 mm

Download:

Related artworks

1888 Drawings by Vincent van Gogh 1888
Flower still-life and snails on a stone ledge
Still Life with Golden Bream
Vaugirard Church by Night
The Queen's Mill, Østervold Park
Still Life with Eggs in Blue
Apples and Bowl, or Still Life with Friend Jacob
Interior with still life 1940