The artwork “Fruit on a Tablecloth with a Fruitdish,” crafted by Georges Braque in 1925, exemplifies the Cubist movement through its oil on canvas medium. This still life measures 51 3/16 x 29 1/2 inches (130 x 75 cm) and is currently held in the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris, France. The creation of this work took place in France, reflecting Braque’s immersion in the avant-garde cultural scene of that era.
In the artwork, the viewer is presented with a complex arrangement of objects that appear to be dissected and realigned on the canvas. The painting showcases the fragmented geometry and simultaneous perspectives characteristic of Cubism. Shades of brown, green, white, and black dominate the composition, and areas of color seem to both advance and recede, creating a sense of depth within the flattened picture plane. The still life elements such as fruit, the tablecloth, and the fruit dish are depicted through a series of shapes and planes that intersect, overlap, and sometimes blend into one another. The viewer’s traditional expectations of perspective and form are challenged, inviting a deeper engagement with the spatial structure and interplay of light and shadow within the painting.
