The Melon
c. 1880
Édouard Manet turned a simple, slightly lopsided melon into a masterpiece of texture and light around 1880. Resting on a crumpled blue cloth against a dark background, the fruit is built up with thick, chunky brushstrokes that give it an almost sculptural, tactile quality. This simple still life perfectly captures the fleeting effects of light championed by the Impressionists, proving that you don't need a grand historical scene to make high art. If you look closely at the wooden ledge in the bottom right, you can even spot his signature casually scrawled there.
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