The artwork “Still Life with a Plate of Cherries,” created by Paul Cezanne in 1887, is an oil on canvas painting measuring 50 by 60 cm, situated within the Post-Impressionist movement. It portrays the genre of still life and is part of the collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) located in Los Angeles, California, United States.
The artwork presents a tabletop arrayed with common objects that convey the simplicity and beauty of everyday items. At the forefront, there is a white plate abundantly piled with ripe cherries, their red tones contrasting with the subdued hues of the surrounding elements. Adjacent to it lies another plate, this one holding a selection of peaches whose subtle coloring blends with the overall warm palette. Draped across the table and partially beneath the plates, a crumpled white cloth adds texture and depth to the composition. In the background, a green jar with a prominent round lid slightly opens up the space, creating a vertical counterpoint to the horizontal spread of the fruit-laden plates. Cezanne’s brushwork is characteristic of the Post-Impressionist style, with an emphasis on the physicality of the paint and a departure from the precision of earlier still life works. The play of light and shadow is managed in a way that highlights the volumetric form of the objects while also subtly blending them into their environment, a testament to Cezanne’s pivotal role as a bridge between late 19th-century Impressionism and the development of early 20th-century Cubism.
