Luis Egidio Meléndez ( Naples 1716-Madrid 1780 )
Naturaleza muerta con limones y naranjas
A pile of lemons and oranges are piled in front of a melon, an
earthenware jug, a basket, bottle and some round boxes (used for
cheese). The seemingly casual array of homely objects are carefully
arranged into a sophisticated and carefully thought out composition.
Meléndez has chosen a low vantage point, close to the objects so that we
see the skill with which he has reproduced the different textures. The
lemons, for instance, complete with lumps and knobbles, look real enough
to pick up. One is about to roll off the table and fall at our feet.
Meléndez often used the same objects in his still lives.
'Still Life with Oranges and Walnuts' has a similar selection of simple foods and containers that would be found in any Spanish household.
Although he had started out as a student of figure painting, he was
expelled from the Spanish Royal Academy in Madrid where he was studying
following an argument between the Academy and his father. He became a
miniature painter, and then specialised in still lifes, updating the
austere tradition of Spanish still life painters from the previous
century such as
Zurbarán.
Los objetos fueron colocados para conseguir una composición de menor a
mayor tamaño: así, se comienza por la exposición de los limones y las
naranjas apiladas en un primer plano contra una jarra de barro y un
melón que sobrepasa el la altura de la mencionada jarra.