Blackberries
Raphaelle Peale (ca. 1813)
How is a still life like a portrait?
This picture demonstrates Peale’s mastery of representational painting. He captured the likeness of the blackberry, a notoriously wild plant that is difficult to tame, capturing each individual berry with exuberance and animation. He preserves the fruit in a fixed state, so that its perfection will endure long after its model has withered.
\ Artist
Raphaelle Peale
American
Born:
1774
Died:
1825
Death place:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Born into America’s premier artistic family of the time, Raphaelle Peale is acknowledged by many to be the first painter in the Unites States to specialize in the genre of still life. He is most known for painting small, intimate pictures of fruit, dessert, and other comestible offerings on tables placed invitingly close to the viewer’s space to inspire contemplation of the senses.
\ About
Medium
Oil on panel
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd