Still Life; Bosschaert, Meléndez, and Peale

Raphaelle Peale, A Dessert (Still Life with Lemons and Oranges), 1814, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift (Partial and Promised) of Jo Ann and Julian Ganz Jr. in memory of Franklin D. Murphy 1999.44.1

Instead, Raphaelle expressed the aspirations of the new republic in still life. The Founding Fathers revered the democracies of ancient Greece and Rome. The corresponding aesthetic in art and architecture was neoclassical—ordered, balanced, "majestically plain," and enduring.

A Dessert embodies these principles. The presentation is rational: every object is lined up clearly, parallel to the picture plane, within a spare setting. The colors are restrained. The fruit reflect timeless perfection, not nature. The oranges, for example, are perfect spheres; the leaves are uniformly green.