Home

Works of Art

 

Works of Art

American Paintings and Sculpture: All

Work 1,203 of 3,349
Add to my Met GalleryAdd to My Met Gallery PrintPrint List ViewPrevious View
Still Life: Balsam Apple and Vegetables, ca. 1820s

James Peale (1749–1831)

Oil on canvas; 20 1/4 x 26 1/2 in. (51.4 x 67.3 cm)

Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, 1939 (39.52)

This painting dates from a peak period of James Peale's career. While he typically used somber colors and linear forms, his use of vivid colors and painterly execution in this work suggest that it is a somewhat experimental exercise. With its focus on lavish vegetable forms, this work resembles still lifes of the Spanish school. The vegetables are, from left to right, okra, blue-green cabbage, crinkly Savoy cabbage, Hubbard squash, eggplant, balsam apple, tomatoes, and purple-red cabbage.