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Luis Egidio Meléndez (Spanish, 1716-1780)
Still Life with Grapes, Figs, and a Copper Kettle, about 1770-80
Oil on canvas, 14 9/16 x 19 3/8 in. (37.0 x 49.2 cm.)
Purchased with funds from the North Carolina Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest), 52.9.176
Although he received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized today as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the eighteenth century. His mastery of composition and light, and his remarkable ability to convey the volume and texture of individual objects enabled him to transform the most mundane of kitchen fare into powerful images. In this regard, his paintings are similar to the still lifes of his much more famous contemporary, Chardin, whose work can be seen in the French eighteenth-century gallery.
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