Artist:

Raphaelle Peale, born Annapolis, MD 1774-died Philadelphia, PA 1825  Search this

Medium:

oil on canvas

Dimensions:

20 3/4 x 25 3/4 in. (52.6 x 65.4 cm.)

Type:

Painting

Date:

1813

Gallery Label:

Raphaelle Peale's father, Charles Willson Peale, urged his son to paint portraits instead of still lifes, which brought an artist less prestige and fewer commissions. But still lifes suited Raphaelle, who also worked as a taxidermist. He painted this melon as if it were a body opened up for examination, detailing its fluids and flesh so that the painting suggests life, fertility, and death, all at once.Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Topic:

Still life\flower\morning-glory  Search this

Still life\fruit\watermelon  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Paul Mellon

Object number:

1967.39.2

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

On View:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2nd Floor, South Wing

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7168904b6-efc3-44c6-84ac-c6df997af039

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1967.39.2