French school; second half of the 19th century.

French school; second half of the 19th century.
"Still lifes".
Oil on canvas.
They present restorations.
Measurements: 70 x 95 cm (x2).
Inspired by the traditional genre of still lifes, the present images gather in a classical composition based on a pyramidal structure with most of the elements in the foreground and completely visible to the viewer. The works stand out for the abundance of food that ranges from figs, pears, a pumpkin, chicken, eggs in one of them, while the other painting shows bread, meat and a can of preserves among other things. In one of the cases, the artist presents an illuminated scene with a neutral background that enhances the volume of the food, which has been captured in a careful way, paying special attention to the qualities of each one of them, as can be seen in the treatment of the porcelain of the soup tureen or in the shine of the metal cutlery. A resource to be taken into account is the way in which the tablecloth is arranged, leaving part of the table uncovered, while the other part is covered by a delicate white tablecloth on which the shadows of the scene rest.
The works that are defined by a loose brushstroke do not lose the essence of realistic painting, as already mentioned. However, it should be noted that this coexistence between both pictorial styles is typical of the nineteenth century, a time when the currents were united and overlapped each other due to the great artistic development of the French school. The still life or still life occupied the lowest rung of the hierarchy of genres in the history of art, however, it was becoming increasingly popular among buyers. In addition to the independent subject of the still life, it addressed other types of painting themes by using prominent, usually symbolic, elements and images that drew on a multitude of elements from nature apparently to reproduce a slice of life.