Plums, Waterglass and Peaches 1889

Rose O'Neill created this still life, Plums, Waterglass and Peaches, with oil on canvas. Her approach to the medium feels distinctly modern, in a sense, as she avoids the high degree of finish normally associated with oil painting. Here, O’Neill explores the inherent qualities of paint – its viscosity, its capacity to be blended, and the effects of light on its surface. The way she applied the materials plays a crucial role in how we perceive the artwork. Look at the seemingly nonchalant brushstrokes. They almost seem unfinished. But, in fact, the artist made a deliberate choice, embracing a gestural application technique that was very popular during the late 19th and early 20th century. It's important to note that O’Neill was also a prolific commercial illustrator, famous for her creation of the Kewpie characters. Recognizing this helps us see that the choice of a casual aesthetic might have been, in part, a conscious challenge of the conventional hierarchy between art and illustration.