Still Life with Grapes, 1840

Bathed in a warm light, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793–1865) staged the apparently freshly harvested grapes as natural representations of nature. The fruit, interspersed with vine leaves, spills out of a beveled wicker basket resting on a wine barrel, the top of which appears in the foreground, with its rusty and rough iron rings and withered wooden staves. The sticky sweetness of the ripe fruit, which seems almost tangible, is emphasized in a credible manner by the late summer light. Waldmüller skillfully rendered a characteristically curved harvest knife sticking out over the edge of the barrel, demonstrating his mastery in three-dimensional representation through the use of light and shadow. With this painting, Waldmüller, who is credited with discovering a new, realistic style of light painting, once more highlighted his ability to render materials and surface textures in a believable manner.

MH, 2023