Still Life with Small Pears Bread Flask Bowl and Dry Leaves

Luis Egidio Meléndez, the leading Spanish still life painter of the eighteenth century, signed and dated this canvas in 1760, early in his career. Unlike the showy display pieces favoured by many still lifes of the time, Meléndez chose humble kitchen objects. On a wooden board with visible grain and some cracks, a few small pears lie in the foreground, followed by a white earthenware jug with a wavy mouth and moulded handles, probably from Andújar. Further back stand a basin or casserole with a metal lid and a spoon handle protruding, and at the rear a dark glass flask. Everything stands out against a very dark background. The white clay jug catches the light and organises the scene with a simple yet highly effective monumentality. The compact, restrained composition seen here would become typical of his work. Its early date makes the painting useful for following the first steps of an artist who later worked for the Natural History Cabinet of the Prince of Asturias.

Painter

Luis Egidio Meléndez

Date

1760

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

48 × 35 cm

Museum

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Genre

still life

Depicts

lebrillo, wine, kitchen utensil, bread, spoon

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