Artists across centuries have used this motif as a vehicle for exploring and expressing their artistic style and vision. (Think, Cézanne and his many apples, Frida Kahlo and her cut fruit, students in painting classes learning how to capture color and curvature in their own unique way.)
More than visual representation, however, is the highly symbolic nature of fruit. Lemons have been used as metaphors for not trusting the senses—beauty on the outside can be sour inside. The apple echoes Christian mythology and sin. Fruit in its ripest, fullest form recalls youth and beauty while wrinkled and decaying depictions (like the Caravaggio above) address the challenging transience of life. For a simple fruit bowl, the meanings are heavy and varied, aren’t they? So next time you look at a bowl of fruit, remember, symbolism.
**************************************************** Caravaggio, Basket of Fruit, c. 1599 CE. Oil on canvas. Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan. Image credit: public domain. **************************************************
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Published: March 22, 2019