Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
Still Life—Strawberries, Nuts, &c.
Raphaelle Peale · 1822
- Artist
- Raphaelle Peale (American, 1774–1825)
- Date
- 1822
- Medium
- Oil on wood panel
- Size
- 41.1 × 57.8 cm (16 3/16 × 22 3/4 in.)
- Made in
- Philadelphia
- Style
- Realism
- Where to see it
- Art Institute of Chicago
Gift of Jamee J. and Marshall Field · CC0 Public Domain · Art Institute of Chicago · image via Wikimedia Commons · see it at the museum ↗
Notes from the museum
A member of a prominent artistic family from Maryland and Pennsylvania, Raphaelle Peale was one of the first painters in the United States to specialize in still life. In this precisely arranged composition, he meticulously rendered the various surfaces and forms of fruits, nuts, and tableware. Influenced by 17th-century Dutch still lifes, Peale featured imported material goods, such as Chinese porcelain made for the American market, a luxury item symbolizing the increasing power and prosperity of the new nation. The large glass urn may hold strawberries grown out of season in greenhouses, called hothouses, an experiment undertaken at the family’s farm outside of Philadelphia.
Text: Art Institute of Chicago (open access). Our full story for this work is coming soon.
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About Raphaelle Peale
Raphaelle Peale is considered the first professional American painter of still-life.
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