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Lot Essay
Eleanor Tufts in her monograph on the artist (Luis Meléndez, Columbia, 1985) lists only 94 works by Meléndez, of which 39 are in the Prado. She notes that 'the dated vertical canvases fall between 1760 and 1770. Thus many undated vertical compositions might tentatively be assigned to this period' (E. Tufts, op. cit., p. 56).
Dr. William B. Jordan and Peter Cherry, in their recent exhibition catalogue, maintain that Meléndez 'made use of things he owned, often repeating these objects in different contexts' (W.B. Jordan and P. Cherry, Spanish Still Life from Velázquez to Goya, National Gallery, London, 22 Feb.-21 May 1995, pp. 156-7). Thus the individual elements of the present picture reappear in other known canvases by the artist. The characteristic brown earthenware covered jar with green glazed neck is also depicted in the Still Life with Limes, a Box of jellied Fruit, an earthenware Jar and other Objects in the Prado, Madrid (E. Tufts, op. cit., p. 70, no. 21, pl. 4). The piled sweetmeat boxes reappear in numerous canvases, see for example, the Still Life with Quinces, Boxes of Food and Two Jars, where the artist's signature also appears on the end of one of the boxes (ibid., pp. 95 and 176, no. 63, fig. 63). Both pictures clearly illustrate Jordan's and Cherry's observation that 'Meléndez capitalised on the basic geometric shapes of the objects depicted, playing one off against another with the skill of a consummate academician' and often used a 'low vantage point and very close-up view of the table top. As a result the narrow upright canvas seems almost unable to contain the powerfully modelled forms, which take on an unprecedented monumentality' (W. Jordan and P. Cherry, loc. cit.). The Still Life with three Plums, Apples, a Pear and a Basket of Bread, a Napkin and a Knife, in the collection of José Fernández López, Madrid, can also be compared to the present picture in its 'disposition of small spherical fruits in front of a large rotund object' (E. Tufts, op. cit., pp. 99 and 181, no. 72, fig. 72). Similarly the Still Life with a Basket of Apples, a Jar and Boxes of Food, listed as in the collection of Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt, recalls the present picture in both its subject matter, its crowded vertical composition, and the manner in which the apples are piled above the rim of the basket (ibid., pp. 107 and 187, no. 88, fig. 88).
Dr. William B. Jordan and Peter Cherry, in their recent exhibition catalogue, maintain that Meléndez 'made use of things he owned, often repeating these objects in different contexts' (W.B. Jordan and P. Cherry, Spanish Still Life from Velázquez to Goya, National Gallery, London, 22 Feb.-21 May 1995, pp. 156-7). Thus the individual elements of the present picture reappear in other known canvases by the artist. The characteristic brown earthenware covered jar with green glazed neck is also depicted in the Still Life with Limes, a Box of jellied Fruit, an earthenware Jar and other Objects in the Prado, Madrid (E. Tufts, op. cit., p. 70, no. 21, pl. 4). The piled sweetmeat boxes reappear in numerous canvases, see for example, the Still Life with Quinces, Boxes of Food and Two Jars, where the artist's signature also appears on the end of one of the boxes (ibid., pp. 95 and 176, no. 63, fig. 63). Both pictures clearly illustrate Jordan's and Cherry's observation that 'Meléndez capitalised on the basic geometric shapes of the objects depicted, playing one off against another with the skill of a consummate academician' and often used a 'low vantage point and very close-up view of the table top. As a result the narrow upright canvas seems almost unable to contain the powerfully modelled forms, which take on an unprecedented monumentality' (W. Jordan and P. Cherry, loc. cit.). The Still Life with three Plums, Apples, a Pear and a Basket of Bread, a Napkin and a Knife, in the collection of José Fernández López, Madrid, can also be compared to the present picture in its 'disposition of small spherical fruits in front of a large rotund object' (E. Tufts, op. cit., pp. 99 and 181, no. 72, fig. 72). Similarly the Still Life with a Basket of Apples, a Jar and Boxes of Food, listed as in the collection of Georg Schäfer, Schweinfurt, recalls the present picture in both its subject matter, its crowded vertical composition, and the manner in which the apples are piled above the rim of the basket (ibid., pp. 107 and 187, no. 88, fig. 88).