A Study of Fruits in 20th Century Art

A Study of Fruits in 20th Century Art

Did you know that 20th century artists continued to paint still lifes of food even after photography became more popular as a medium? Artsome explores paintings across five of the ‘-Isms ‘ that you can sink your teeth into! Figuratively, of course. Notice the differences in the brush strokes, frames and pictorial compositions in each movement as well as how the fruits become more and more abstract as we move from Impressionism to Surrealism.
1. Impressionism: 
When it comes to fruit painting, one painting that comes top of mind is the famous oil painting ‘Still Life with Basket and Six Oranges’. Painted in the year 1888 by the great Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, it highlights his experimentation with colours. This kind of still life oil paintings is very common in visual art. 
File:Vincent van Gogh, 'Basket With Six Oranges'.jpg
Vincent Van Gogh, Still Life with Basket and Six Oranges, 1888, oil on canvas. Private Collection.
When it comes to paintings many artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir have depicted art fruits. His every works as an Impressionist artist highlight real-life in sparkling colour and light. 
Still Life with Apples and Oranges, c.1897 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Apples and Oranges, 1897, oil on canvas. Private collection.
This still-life painting by Gauguin reveals the artist's natural technical skill with brush and canvas. The subject matter is also standard Impressionist fare and is a clear indicator of Gauguin's early influencers, which included Monet, Pissarro and Renoir.
Still life with Oranges, 1881 - Paul Gauguin
Paul Gauguin, Still Life with Oranges, 1881, oil on canvas, 33 x 46 cm. Collection: Musee des Beaux-Arts, Rennes, France.
2. Post-Impressionism: 
This is a part of a series of six still lives produced in Cézanne's Parisian studio. It portrays Apples and Oranges in an earthenware dish and a jug decorated with a floral motif. This fruit painting combines modernity and sumptuous beauty and is the most important still life produced by the artist 
Apples and Oranges, c.1900 - Paul Cezanne
Paul Cezanne, Apples and Oranges, 1900, oil on canvas, 74 x 93 cm.
Henri Rousseau never went to any school, and was a self-made painter was completely untrained in any established art techniques. Rousseau’s painting style was very naïve, unlike that of any other primitive painter. He made many trips to the botanical gardens, perused illustrated books, and observed closely studied taxidermised animals.  
Still life with teapot and fruit, c.1910 - Henri Rousseau
Henri Rousseau, Still Life with Fruit and Teapot, oil on canvas.
3. Cubism
Still life with lemon and oranges, 1936 - Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso, Still Life with Lemon and Oranges, 1936, oil on canvas, 54 x 65 cm.
This oil on canvas printing used quite dark tones with cool secondary colours, as the dark browns and greens. To brighten the painting, on items like a jug, he used white colour to show the light reflection. The painting is very cluttered, with a lot of objects cramped together. The shapes are rounded however lines and detail in them make them look quite sharp and angular. 
Guitar, Fruit and Pitcher, 1927 - Georges Braque - WikiArt.org
Georges Braque, Guitar, Fruit and Pitcher, 1927, oil on canvas, 73.7 x 91.5 cm, Private Collection.
4. Pointillism
File:Henri Matisse, 1899, Still Life with Compote, Apples and Oranges, oil  on canvas, 46.4 x 55.6 cm, The Cone Collection, Baltimore Museum of Art.jpg  - Wikipedia
Henri Matisse, Still Life, oil on canvas. 
Still Life with Bottle of Wine, c.1904 - Henri-Edmond Cross
Henri-Edmond Cross, Still Life with Bottle of Wind, 1904, oil on canvas, Private Collection.
5. Surrealism
Souvenir de voyage by René Magritte on artnet
Rene Magritte, Souvenir de voyage (stone apple), 1963, oil on canvas, 81 x 100 cm, Menil Collection, Houston, Texas, USA.
Eucharistic Still Life, 1952 - Salvador Dali
Salvador Dali, Eucharistic Still Life, 1952, oil on canvas, Private Collection.
Image source: www.wikipaintings.com