Lot Essay
Tabletop Still Life is among Peto's largest works. While its unusually large scale gives the canvas a monumentality and grandeur not usually found in Peto's work, the ordinariness of the objects depicted is typical of the artist's choice of subject. The painting contains many of Peto's ususal props, including the tall jug, the inkwell, the violin and bow, and the candlestick, as well as a pile of old books, one of which hangs precariously off the edge of the table.
As John Wilmerding has discussed in depth [Important Information Inside: The Art of John F. Peto and the Idea of Still-Life Painting in Nineteenth-Century America (1983), pp. 141-148], the violin, in particular, holds a special significance in Peto's imagery. The instrument recurs throughout the artist's work, appearing as early as 1880 in Violin, Fan, and Books (Wilmerding, no. 128, illus.). Wilmerding writes: "Whether lying flat on a table, reclining on adjacent props, or hanging flat against a wall, (the violin) offered challenging questions of foreshortening and shape. On a tabletop in a more traditional still-life arrangement the violin could serveas an interesting visual foil to the shapes of books or candleholders..."(p.141) Peto knew how to play the violin and would have included it in his compositions as a familar object from his studio. As Wilmerding notes, "Although Peto's aristic interest in the ivolin was born more out of ddaily familiarity than any conscious allegiance to...iconographic tradition, it is obvious his imagery inherits the idea of music as an elevated symbol of pure art."(pp. 145-46)
Tabletop Still Life relates in composition ot Books on a Table, about 1900 (oil on canvas, 24½ x 43in., Wilmerding, no. 106, illus.), and incorporates some of the same props, such as the tall jug, the ink well, and the books.
As John Wilmerding has discussed in depth [Important Information Inside: The Art of John F. Peto and the Idea of Still-Life Painting in Nineteenth-Century America (1983), pp. 141-148], the violin, in particular, holds a special significance in Peto's imagery. The instrument recurs throughout the artist's work, appearing as early as 1880 in Violin, Fan, and Books (Wilmerding, no. 128, illus.). Wilmerding writes: "Whether lying flat on a table, reclining on adjacent props, or hanging flat against a wall, (the violin) offered challenging questions of foreshortening and shape. On a tabletop in a more traditional still-life arrangement the violin could serveas an interesting visual foil to the shapes of books or candleholders..."(p.141) Peto knew how to play the violin and would have included it in his compositions as a familar object from his studio. As Wilmerding notes, "Although Peto's aristic interest in the ivolin was born more out of ddaily familiarity than any conscious allegiance to...iconographic tradition, it is obvious his imagery inherits the idea of music as an elevated symbol of pure art."(pp. 145-46)
Tabletop Still Life relates in composition ot Books on a Table, about 1900 (oil on canvas, 24½ x 43in., Wilmerding, no. 106, illus.), and incorporates some of the same props, such as the tall jug, the ink well, and the books.