“Still Life with Cherries” is an artwork by Paul Gauguin, completed in 1886 while he was in Paris, France. This still life is crafted with oil on canvas and is a representative work of the Post-Impressionism movement. Currently, the artwork resides within a private collection.
The artwork presents a composition of various objects arranged on a flat surface. In the foreground, there is a bowl filled with cherries and a few leaves, resting beside scattered cherries. The cherries appear ripe and vibrant, offering a sense of freshness and immediacy to the viewer. To the left of the bowl, there is a rotund vessel ornamented with floral patterns, and further to the left stands a slender carafe with a broad base filled with a ruby-red liquid that captures and reflects the ambient light.
The background is fairly subdued with muted blue tones, giving a sense of depth and contrast against the warm hues of the objects in the foreground. The surface the objects rest upon appears to be covered with a light, draped fabric, which provides a neutral stage for the still life composition. Intriguingly, the painting itself seems to be a part of the visual narrative, featuring the artist’s signature and the year in which it was created, artistically integrated into the scene. The brushwork, color application, and lighting are characteristic of Gauguin’s style during the period and reflect the broader tendencies of Post-Impressionists to emphasize personal expression and bold visual effects over precise realism.
