Fruit Displayed on a Stand (original) (raw)

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about 1881–82

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas

Dimensions76.5 x 100.6 cm (30 1/8 x 39 5/8 in.)

Credit LineFanny P. Mason Fund in memory of Alice Thevin

Accession Number1979.196

Caillebotte delighted in unusual vantage points and compositions. This close-up view of fruit stacked on a market stand creates a bold pattern of repeated forms and colors, while the sensuous brushstrokes suggest the lusciousness of the fruit. A loyal and well-to-do member of the Impressionist group, Caillebotte bequeathed his extensive painting collection to the state. It became the nucleus of the Impressionist collection now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

InscriptionsLower right: G. Caillebotte

ProvenanceAbout 1881-1882, painted for Albert Courtier (b. 1844 - d. 1922), Meaux, France [see note]; to his granddaughter, Suzanne Brodu (Mme. Michel Brunet), Paris; by descent within the family to a private collection, Paris; March 22, 1979, anonymous (private collector) sale, Palais d'Orsay, Paris, lot 71, to Wildenstein and Co., New York; sold by Wildenstein to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 16, 1979)

NOTE: Courtier was a notary in Meaux and a friend of Caillebotte; the painting was intended for his dining room. Provenance is based on information in Marie Berhaut, "Caillebotte: sa vie et son oeuvre" (Paris, 1978), p. 142, cat. no. 178, at which time the painting was in an anonymous private collection ("P[ropriétaire] A[nonyme]").