Description
Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge is a painting attributed to Caravaggio and variously dated between 1601 and 1610: on a stone slab, in strong side light, melons, a split pomegranate, figs, grapes, squashes, peaches and plums are heaped up against a dark background. The original, oil on canvas, is 87 cm high and 135 cm wide and is held in a private collection. Our painter paints it for you by hand in oil on canvas in 8 landscape sizes, from 60 x 38 to 150 x 92 cm, or to a size you specify; you see the finished work in a photograph before we send it.
| Title: | Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge |
| Other titles: | Natura morta con frutta su un ripiano di pietra · Stillleben mit Früchten auf einer Steinplatte |
| Painter: | Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610) |
| Year painted: | between 1601 and 1610 |
| Original size: | 87 cm x 135 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, tenebrism |
| Located at: | Private collection |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge – Caravaggio
What does Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge show?
A heap of fruit and vegetables fills almost the whole length of a broad stone ledge, and each piece stands clear of the dark, empty background.
According to Wikipedia, part of the fruit is piled in a wicker basket on the stone table. Large melons, pumpkins and long, twisting marrows take most of the space, as if trying to escape the flat canvas. A watermelon and a pumpkin are cut open.
Smaller fruits are tucked between the big ones: an open pomegranate with its seeds, figs, bunches of grapes, peaches and plums. The light falls from the upper left, strong yet mellow, and on every fruit it divides the glossy skin from deep shadow.
What does the still life mean?
At first sight the painting is, in Wikipedia’s words, a bravura study of texture, form and light: the rough rind of a melon, the smooth skin of a plum, the juicy flesh of the cut fruit.
Fruit and vegetables carried a well-developed symbolism in the Renaissance. Because so many of Caravaggio’s apparently simple pictures, Boy Bitten by a Lizard among them, hide coded messages, it is quite possible that this still life is more complex than it looks. Even so, no convincing reading has yet been put forward, though several writers have noted the suggestive moist, cut fruit.
Why is the painting considered so important?
Wikipedia credits Caravaggio as the father of Roman still-life painting, a genre still in its infancy in the early seventeenth century. He very often worked still-life elements into his scenes, yet only two independent still lifes from his hand have been identified so far: this one and the Basket of Fruit in the Ambrosiana in Milan.
For the virtuosity of its execution and the complexity of its composition, scholars have called it a “capital picture for the artist” and a “masterpiece of still life”. For fruit inside a large scene, see The Supper at Emmaus, where a basket of fruit balances on the very edge of the table.
The light is typical of him too, falling as if through a hole in the ceiling. Wikipedia adds that around this time a landlady sued him for cutting a hole in the ceiling of his rented rooms, presumably for this lighting. More is in the English-language Wikipedia article.
Where is the original, and where does it come from?
The original is in a private collection. It is first recorded in 1671, in the collection of Cardinal Antonio Barberini, as being “in the hand” of the artist. How it got there is not known.
One trail leads to Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, Caravaggio’s first patron. Barberini bought part of his collection after the cardinal died in 1627, so the still life may have been a private work for del Monte. Del Monte’s collection also held Saint Catherine of Alexandria, in which the saint kneels beside her broken wheel.
Another possibility is that Antonio Barberini inherited it in 1644 from his uncle, Pope Urban VIII. It is documented that in 1603, while still a cardinal, Urban bought several works directly from Caravaggio. According to Wikipedia, the still life shares the dimensions and the palette of The Sacrifice of Isaac in the Uffizi, which belonged to that group and dates from the same period.
Still Life with Fruit or another Caravaggio?
Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge is a canvas painting for anyone who loves Caravaggio’s light but would rather not hang saints or drama on the wall. With no suffering and no story to know, it sits well in a kitchen, dining room or hallway.
For fruit in his early Roman work, see The Lute Player: a young musician plays behind a table with a violin, an open part-book, a vase of flowers and fruit. A little earlier still is The Fortune Teller, where a girl reads a young man’s palm and slips off his ring.
All the famous Caravaggio paintings in our range are gathered on the Caravaggio page.
How does our painter paint this still life?
We paint the still life to order, in oil on canvas, one layer at a time. The painter first lays a dark ground, then draws the ledge and the big fruits with a fine brush so the arrangement is correct.
Then he builds the light. Each fruit gets its own surface: the melon its rough netting, grapes and plums their matt skins, the pomegranate its glistening seeds, the pumpkin a firm sheen.
This Caravaggio reproduction keeps real brushmarks, which a print lacks, and the dark ground holds its depth. As an oil painting reproduction it looks calm by day and, under warm evening light, the fruit seems almost to glow.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 60 x 38 or 70 x 44 cm for a kitchen or above a shelf, 76 x 51 or 90 x 57 cm for a dining room or hallway, 99 x 65 or 116 x 73 cm above a table or sideboard, and 130 x 82 or 150 x 92 cm for a large wall in the main living space.
We paint the still life in 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 60 x 38, 70 x 44, 76 x 51, 90 x 57, 99 x 65, 116 x 73, 130 x 82 and 150 x 92 cm. The closest to the original is 130 x 82 cm, which is 5 cm narrower and 5 cm lower.
As a painting for the living room it works above a sofa at 116 x 73 cm, and in a dining room, above a table for six, 130 x 82 cm is the right choice.
Can I have a different size or a frame?
Yes. For a different ratio we add or trim a little dark background above the fruit and leave the ledge and fruit whole. Tell us the width and height you would like and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
The painting travels rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Stretching and framing are handled by our own workshop in Slovenia before the still life leaves. You choose the frame in our 3D app, which is only for choosing a frame; viewing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will the painting arrive, and how is it sent?
We start painting once you confirm the order and ship the painting within 15 to 45 working days. Before that we send you a photograph of the finished work; if you would like a correction, we make it before dispatch. Orders to Slovenia and the rest of the EU travel without customs duties, and our returns policy covers every order.
It makes a good housewarming gift or a present for someone who loves to cook. To let the recipient pick the size, a wall art voucher does the job.
Frequently asked questions
In which collection is the original?
In a private collection; it is first recorded in 1671 with Cardinal Antonio Barberini.
Which fruits lie on the ledge?
Melons, a cut watermelon and pumpkin, marrows, a pomegranate, figs, grapes, peaches and plums.
Is it a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy: our painter lays every fruit on the canvas with a brush and oil paint.
Is it certainly by Caravaggio?
It is attributed to him; the Barberini inventory of 1671 records it as a work from his hand.
How big is the original?
It is 87 cm high and 135 cm wide; our nearest size is 130 x 82 cm.
Does it suit a kitchen or a bedroom?
Best in a kitchen, dining room or living room, but it is calm enough for a bedroom.
Will you paint a size that is not listed?
Yes. Send us the width and height, and we will tell you the price and the timing.
How long will I wait for the painting?
Between 15 and 45 working days, and a photograph of your finished still life reaches you before it ships.
- Subject: melons, squashes, a pomegranate, figs, grapes, peaches and plums on a stone ledge in strong side light.
- Original: between 1601 and 1610, oil on canvas, 87 x 135 cm, private collection; attributed to Caravaggio.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 landscape sizes from 60 x 38 to 150 x 92 cm, or your own size.
- Worth knowing: only two independent still lifes by Caravaggio are known; the other is the Basket of Fruit in Milan.
