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

The composition is symmetrical. Three oranges rest exactly in the middle of the canvas; on the left, the glass decanter narrows in shape as it rises upward, while the wine glass on the right reverses the form. The lemon has its counterpart in the walnuts. Even the slight arc of the oranges has an echo in the bulge of the bowl.

The composition visually embodies the checks and balances that concerned the era's political leaders, the framers of the Constitution.