{"product_id":"enm-2407-still-life-oil-painting","title":"Antique Fruit Still Life Oil Painting, Gilt Frame, Late 1800s","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eGreen and blue grapes spill across a grey marble ledge in front of a red velvet drape, with plums, raspberries, red berries and an apple crowded in beside them. The grapes get a few quick, glassy highlights that make them read as wet, and a dried vine leaf curls against the drape at the back. It is the dark, ledge-and-drape arrangement 19th century fruit painters returned to again and again, here seen through a round opening in a heavy gilt frame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Artist | Unidentified\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Signature | Unsigned, which is usual for decorative fruit still lifes of this type, many of which were painted for the trade\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Medium | Oil on canvas\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Subject | Fruit still life with green and blue grapes, plums, raspberries, red berries and an apple on a marble ledge, with a dried vine leaf and red drape behind\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Origin | Likely English\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Age | Late 19th century. Assessed on style and frame. The canvas has been relined, so any reverse labels or marks that might have narrowed the date are lost.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Canvas Size | 13.5 in. W x 13.5 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Frame Size | 19.5 in. W x 19.5 in. H\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Format | Square canvas, viewed through a round opening in the frame\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Frame | Gilt gesso and composition frame in the Rococo Revival (Louis XV) style, with a round gilt slip. Period style frame, not verified as original to the painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]School or Movement | Victorian Still Life. Fruit and flower painting of the 19th century that carried on the Dutch and Flemish habit of arranging produce on a ledge against a dark ground. Painters of this type chased lush surfaces, with glassy highlights and saturated color set against deep shadow. The pictures were made for domestic walls, dining rooms in particular.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Style | Dark-ground fruit still life with ledge and drape\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[d]Support | Relined canvas on stretcher. Relining method and date unknown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e[condition]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe painting has an overall cracked surface, an age craquelure that runs across the paint and is most visible in the lighter passages and the drape. The surface carries a glossy varnish. Some of the dark passages along the lower edge of the ledge look rubbed and slightly dusty to the eye. I have not examined the painting under UV light, so I can't tell you whether that is wear or old retouching, and I am not ruling retouching out anywhere on the surface.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe canvas has been relined. The relining has stabilized the canvas against further age-related movement, and it also means the back of the original canvas, along with any labels, stamps or inscriptions it once carried, can't be seen. The backing is modern brown paper and tape, and the cord and screw eyes are modern hanging hardware.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe frame shows its age. There are cracks in the gesso at several points, rubbed gilding on the high points, and fine gilt craquelure throughout. A section of the ornament has broken away at the upper left corner, which changes the outline of the frame there. The broken section is still with the painting and is included in the sale. Nothing else appears loose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ePlease review all photographs closely, as they form part of this description.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Austyn Marie Design","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67636990968086,"sku":"ENM-2407","price":1300.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0896\/4623\/5926\/files\/October2026-11802.jpg?v=1791233131","url":"https:\/\/austynmariedesign.com\/products\/enm-2407-still-life-oil-painting","provider":"Austyn Marie Design","version":"1.0","type":"link"}