Recolte des Pommes c. 1890

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes created "Recolte des Pommes" with what appears to be oil on canvas. The figures and background are rendered with gentle, almost faded colours, giving the scene a dreamlike, ethereal quality. The composition is structured with a deliberate simplicity. The arrangement of the figures and objects invites interpretation through a structuralist lens. The woman, the child, and the basket of apples create a semantic triangle, where each element gains meaning in relation to the others. This recalls the theories of Claude Lévi-Strauss, who examined cultural phenomena as systems of signs. Here, the artist uses a similar semiotic system to explore themes of fertility, nurture, and the cycle of life. The subdued palette and idealized forms challenge fixed meanings around pastoral themes. It encourages us to reflect on how artistic conventions shape our understanding of nature and human existence. In its formal restraint, the work encourages an ongoing interpretation of values and meanings.