Still Life with Melon and Peaches
c. 1866
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 68.3 x 91 cm (26 7/8 x 35 13/16 in.) framed: 96.8 x 119.4 x 8.9 cm (38 1/8 x 47 x 3 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CF
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
Accession Number
1960.1.1
Art Historical Context
Edouard Manet's *Still Life with Melon Peaches* (c. 1866) is a vibrant oil-on-canvas painting that captures the simple beauty of ripe fruit—a halved melon and plump peaches—arranged with elegant restraint. Measuring 68.3 x 91 cm, this work exemplifies Manet's mastery of still life, a genre he elevated from academic tradition to modern innovation. As a pivotal figure bridging Realism and Impressionism, Manet infused everyday subjects with bold vitality, using loose, expressive brushstrokes and direct, unfiltered light to create a sense of immediacy and freshness. Painted during a transitional ...
About the Artist
Edouard Manet · 1832–1883
Édouard Manet (1832-1883) was a French painter who played a pivotal role in the transition from Realism to Impressionism, often called the 'Father of Modern Art.' Born into a wealthy Parisian family, Manet defied his father's wishes for a legal career to pursue painting, studying under academic artist Thomas Couture. His revolutionary works 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' and 'Olympia' (both 1863) scand...