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Fruit Displayed on a Stand

Gustave Caillebotte (French, 1848–1894)
about 1881–82

Medium/Technique Oil on canvas
Dimensions 76.5 x 100.6 cm (30 1/8 x 39 5/8 in.)
Credit Line Fanny P. Mason Fund in memory of Alice Thevin
Accession Number1979.196
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Caillebotte delighted in unusual vantage points and compositions. This close-up view of fruit stacked on a market stand creates a bold pattern of repeated forms and colors, while the sensuous brushstrokes suggest the lusciousness of the fruit. A loyal and well-to-do member of the Impressionist group, Caillebotte bequeathed his extensive painting collection to the state. It became the nucleus of the Impressionist collection now in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

InscriptionsLower right: G. Caillebotte
ProvenanceAbout 1881-1882, painted for Albert Courtier (b. 1844 - d. 1922), Meaux [see note 1]; by descent from Courtier to Mme. Brunet, Paris [see note 2]; by descent from Mme. Brunet to a private collection, Paris [see note 3]; March 22, 1979, sale of private collector, Palais d'Orsay, Paris, lot 71, to Wildenstein and Co., New York, for the MFA. (Accession Date: May 16, 1979)

NOTES:
[1] Courtier was a notary in Meaux and a friend of Caillebotte; the painting was intended for his dining room. See Marie Berhaut, "Caillebotte: sa vie et son oeuvre" (Paris, 1978), cat. no. 178.

[2] The provenance is taken from notes in the MFA curatorial file.

[3] The private collector is noted as "P.A., Paris" in Berhaut, Caillebotte: Sa Vie et Son Oeuvre (1978), cat. 78.