Raphaelle Peale (American, 1774–1825). <em>Still Life with Cake</em>, 1822. Oil on panel, 9 1/2 x 11 5/16 in. (24.1 x 28.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 24.72 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 24.72_SL1.jpg)

Raphaelle Peale (American, 1774–1825). Still Life with Cake, 1822. Oil on panel, 9 1/2 x 11 5/16 in. (24.1 x 28.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 24.72 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 24.72_SL1.jpg)

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Are these sorts of still life paintings just a display of skill, or are they supposed to mean something more?

They are actually both! They express or advertise the artist's skills, but still lifes also traditionally have overtones of the ephemerality of life.

The luxuries depicted here are beautiful but the fruit would go bad very quickly. See if you can spot any signs that any of it is past its prime.

Tell me about this!

You're looking at a still life by Raphaelle Peale! He's part of the noted Peale family, whose work you can see nearby. As you may have read this painting features a “poor man’s pound cake,” and suggests less prosperity and bounty than the surrounding works.

What I love most about still life painting is that it allows the artist to demonstrate their skill with the material and to show off a bit. I particularly love the way Peale rendered the spots on the apple. It looks so natural. Also, still life paintings often showcase the duality of life and death thorough visual metaphor. Do you notice any allusions to death in this, or in other surrounding works?

No, but l love the clarity, simplicity ,and space in his work.

Great observation. It is easier to appreciate this work because there's less visual clutter. It's interesting to note that Peale did not devote his career to portrait painting, like many other artists in this era (and in his own family!), but rather focused on still life painting. Peale is one of the earliest American painters to engage in still life painting as the primary focus of their career.

Still Life with Cake

Raphaelle Peale

American Art

On View: American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Radical Care

A Poor Man’s Still Lifes

With a few objects arranged on a ledge before an indistinct background, Raphaelle Peale’s paintings suggest a restraint that perhaps reflects the impoverished circumstances of the artist’s life. Still Life with Cake portrays only a blemished apple, raisins, and a “poor man’s pound cake,” usually made from leftover dough, to which sugar or nutmeg would be added. In Still Life with Peaches, the relatively expensive dessert bowl adds refinement to the composition, but in all likelihood, Peale did not own it.

ARTIST Raphaelle Peale, American, 1774–1825

MEDIUM Oil on panel

DATES 1822

DIMENSIONS 9 1/2 x 11 5/16 in. (24.1 x 28.7 cm) frame: 15 5/8 x 17 7/16 x 2 3/4 in. (39.7 x 44.3 x 7 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Signed lower right: "Raphaelle Peale Jany: 1st. 1822"

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 24.72

CREDIT LINE Museum Collection Fund

PROVENANCE Prior to 1924, provenance not yet documented; before 1924, acquired, possibly at an art market in Boston, MA, by André E. Rueff of Brooklyn, NY; October 15, 1924, purchased from André E. Rueff by the Brooklyn Museum.

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EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in American Art Galleries, 5th Floor, Radical Care

CAPTION Raphaelle Peale (American, 1774–1825). Still Life with Cake, 1822. Oil on panel, 9 1/2 x 11 5/16 in. (24.1 x 28.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 24.72 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 24.72_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 24.72_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

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