Poires (1880)

Manet, Édouard (1832-1883)

Poires (Pears)
1880
Oil on canvas, 19.05 × 24.13 cm
National Gallery of ArtWashington

Two green pears lit from the upper right sit on a pale blue tabletop or ledge against a dark background in this horizontal still life painting. The left pear sits upright against the other. The left-hand pear’s laurel-green skin is flecked with dark brown, and its black stem tips to our left. The other pear lies on its side with its stem angled toward the table to our right. Its lighter green skin is tinged with peach along its top curve. The surface beneath the pears is loosely painted with ice blue flecked with gray, blush pink, and sky blue, perhaps suggesting marble. The front, right corner of the table nearly lines up with the bottom right corner of the composition. The area below the table and the wall behind the table are dark brown. Barely visible, the artist signed the painting with black paint against the dark brown skirt of the table, “Manet.” (NGA)