Still Life Fruit and Wine Glass 1865 - 1870

Curator: Let's consider Roesen’s "Still Life with Fruit and Wine Glass," made around 1865-1870. He's using oil paint, which allows for such luscious surfaces, but what really strikes me is how deliberately staged everything feels. Editor: It has a very rich, almost decadent quality to it, and you're right – there's something incredibly deliberate about the arrangement. What stands out to you the most? Curator: Think about where Roesen was working: in a rapidly industrializing United States. The very act of meticulously depicting these readily available goods--fruit, wine--highlights a burgeoning consumer culture. It’s not just about pretty fruit; it's about the *access* to it. Where was this fruit sourced? What were the labor practices? And how did Roesen obtain and mix his paints? Editor: That’s a fascinating angle I hadn’t considered. So, you're suggesting it's not simply a celebration of nature's bounty but also an indirect commentary on emerging economic structures? I wonder about the specific pigments he used too, like the intense richness of the grapes, it definitely brings those elements together for the viewer to engage with. Curator: Precisely. We can almost taste the product of colonial structures and trade relations in the richness of the colour. Moreover, who would purchase such a work? Its market would be affluent and partaking in these new modes of exchange. The still life, on the face of it, offers this glimpse into what late 19th century wealth enabled. How does that make you see the image? Editor: I think understanding its materiality and context helps us see the artist as documenting the relationship between society, products and consumption during the industrial boom of the US. I initially just thought this was a pretty painting, now I know how blind I was being. Curator: Exactly! By investigating production and access we avoid simple consumption, or consumption of the simple.