Social Sharing

Still Life with Plums and a Lemon

1778

Gaining admittance into the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, established in Paris in 1648 by Louis XIV, was the ultimate goal for French artists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Membership, which facilitated access to courtly patronage, studio space, and, most importantly, live models, was predominantly conferred upon men. In 1770, Anne Vallayer secured one of only four seats within the Académie reserved for female artists. Since women could not attend the school's life drawing classes, Vallayer illustrated other natural forms in her popular tabletop compositions, such as this still life, which she exhibited at many of the biennial Salons organized by the institution.

Artist: Anne Vallayer-Coster
Title: Still Life with Plums and a Lemon
Date: 1778
Place of Creation: France
Object Type: Painting
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 16 3/8 x 18 5/8 in. (41.6 x 47.3 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Louis A. Benoist
Accession Number: 1960.30

Possibly in the Salon of 1779, no. 105 (though dimensions listed there as 13 ✕ 15 pouces [ca. 35 ✕ 40 cm]).

1975, San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor. "Women Artists: Review and Recognition," 11 October - 25 December, no catalog.

1976-1977, Los Angeles-Austin-Pittsburgh-New York. “Women Artists 1550-1950.” Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 21 December 1976 - 13 March 1977; Austin, The University of Texas, University Art Museum, 12 April - 5 June 1977; Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institute, 14 July - 4 September 1977; New York, The Brooklyn Museum, 4 October - 27 November 1977, no. 55, repr.

1978-1979, Denver-New York-Minneapolis. “Masterpieces of French Art: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.” Denver Art Museum, 26 December 1978 - 18 February 1979; New York, Wildenstein & Co., Inc., 14 March - 27 April 1979; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 24 May - 1 July 1979, no. 38.

1998, "A Feast for the Eye."
Marianne Roland Michel. Anne Vallayer-Coster 1744-1818. Paris: Comptoir International du Livre, 1970, p. 145, no. 138, repr. on 144.

Marianne Roland Michel. "Basket of Plums." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60 (February 1973): p. 57.

Emile de la Chavignerie Bellier and Louis Auvray. Dictionnaire général des artistes de l’Ecole française depuis l’origine des arts du dessin jusqu'à nos jours. 2 vols. 1882-1885. Reprint, ed. Robert Rosenblum. 5 vols. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979, 4:295.

Thomas P. Lee. "Recently Acquired French Paintings: Reflections on the Past." Apollo 111, no. 217 (March 1980): p. 222, fig. 19 on 221.

Pierre Rosenberg and Marion C. Stewart. French Paintings 1500-1825: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. San Francisco: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1987, pp. 284-287, repr.

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Social Sharing

Provenance

Exhibition History

Bibliography

Woman holding a swan, mid 4th century BC

Composition of Right Foot, 19th-20th century

A mature man preparing to make love to a young girl, ninth scene from the series Handscroll for the Sleeve (Sode no maki), ca. 1780-1790

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