Still Life with a Basket of Peaches and Grapes

1636

Louise Moillon

Artist, French, 1609/1610 - 1696

Media Options

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Notice the twisted stone plinths, fruit spilling out of the basket, and leaves that seem to spring off the picture plane. These objects—all irregularly shaped—create a sense of dynamism and movement. Yet Louise Moillon harnessed them into a nearly symmetrical composition, giving the still life a balanced and meditative quality. Savor the textures and colors of each object. The crisp, pointed leaves play against the smooth, rounded forms of the fruit, just as the warm tones of the peaches set off the cool hues of the green grapes.

Moillon belonged to the first generation of French still-life painters. Working in the 17th century when professional opportunities for women artists were severely restricted, she distinguished herself as one of its most accomplished practitioners.
 

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 36

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly Charles I, King of England [1600-1649], The Cabinet Room, Whitehall.[1] Private collection, Lausanne, Switzerland; (sale, Christie’s, London, 30 November 1973, no. 47); purchased by Honoré.[2] Private collection, Germany until 1988. (De Jonckheere, Brussels and Paris, by 1989 until at least 1991).[3] Private collection, France, from the early 1990s until 2023. Private collection, UK, 2023; purchased 2024 through (Ben Elwes Fine Art) by NGA.
[1] Abraham van der Doort’s 1639 inventory A Catalogue and Description of King Charles the First's Capital Collection of Pictures, Limnings, Statues, etc (MS Ashmole 1514, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford) records a work described as “an other peece of grapes and peach—and vine leaves upon a Stone table . Done by A ffrenchwoeman in ffraunc Called . Lousea Mullon” (folio 156, item no. 3). See Oliver Millar, “Abraham van der Doort’s Catalogue of the Collection of Charles I,” Walpole Society 37 (1960): 160. The catalogue entry for a different painting by Moillon sold by Sotheby’s London on 13 December 1991 (no. 57) indicates Millar thought the description fit that work; however, it does not have the unusual stone ledge specified in the inventory, which makes the NGA painting a more likely match.
[2] Later provenance was adapted from the research of Dr. Tom Flynn and from the artist’s catalogue raisonné by Dominique Alsina, Louyse Moillon: La nature morte au Grand Siècle, Dijon, 2009. In the 1973 sale the painting is given as "Property of a Gentleman." The name of the buyer is listed as ‘Honoré’ in the Frick Photographic Archive, which was separately confirmed to Dr. Flynn by the London photography firm A. C. Cooper of London. See provenance research report dated 20 November 2023, copy in NGA curatorial files, as well as https://digitalcollections.frick.org.
[3] The painting was exhibited by the De Jonckheere Gallery in 1989 (Brussels), 1990 (Paris) and 1991 (Paris).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1975

  • Nature morte de fleurs et fruits du XVIIe, XVIII, et XIXe siècle, Galleria Luigi Caretto, Turin, 1975, no. 29.

1989

  • Rencontre des Maîtres, Galerie De Jonckheere, Brussels, 1989, no. 20, repro.

  • XXe exposition de maîtres anciens, Galerie De Jonckheere, Paris, 1989, no. 39, repro.

1990

  • XVe Biennale internationale des Antiquaires, Grand Palais, Paris, 1990, no. 49.

1991

  • Miroir de la nature morte, Galerie de Jonckheere, Paris, 1991, no. 23, repro.

Bibliography

1996

  • Grimm, Claus. Natures mortes : italiennes, espagnoles et françaises aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles. Paris, 1996: 86, repro, 174, repro.

2009

  • Alsina, Dominique. Louyse Moillon: la nature morte au Grand Siècle. Dijon, 2009: 164, no. 38, repro.

Inscriptions

Lower right on table: Louyse Moillon, 1636

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