Still Life with a Plate of Peaches and Grapes

We often share with you stories about forgotten women artists, whose works are often misattributed to their male colleagues. This is the case with today's painting; long kept in a private collection under the name of the Dutch artist Abraham van Calraet (1642–1722), this magnificent still life is one of Louise Moillon’s most accomplished works. It reveals her taste for pared-down compositions, marked by a frank and assertive realism.

Born in 1610, Louise Moillon was the daughter of the portrait and landscape painter Nicolas Moillon, who died when she was nine. Her mother later remarried the still life painter François Garnier, from whom Louise likely learned her craft.

The painting, executed on a fine wooden panel, was almost certainly trimmed along the right and lower edges, as suggested by the slight misalignment of the silver plate and the grapes cut off at the bottom.

Despite this, the composition remains typical of Moillon’s mature work from the 1630s. Stripping her pictorial language down to its essence and embracing silence and space as a form of contemplation, Moillon composed with restraint and sobriety, avoiding ostentation. She reused simple elements found in other works—for example, the silver plate, velvety peaches, and fresh grapes—all presented with honesty and without any decorative intent.

P.S. You can find equally tasteful still lives in our Food & Drinks 50 Postcards Set :) 

P.P.S. Here are 5 women artists whose works were once misattributed to men. Who knows how many more are still waiting to be discovered?