Still Life with Fruits and a Goldfinch 1855

Curator: This is "Still Life with Fruits and a Goldfinch" by O.D. Ottesen, painted in 1855. You can find it here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: My first impression is one of abundance, tinged with a certain melancholic stillness. The rich colors of the fruit contrast with the dark, undefined background. Curator: The materiality is key here. Notice the texture Ottesen achieves with oil paint: the waxy skins of the fruit, the delicate feathers of the goldfinch, the almost palpable leaves. What does this focus on material representation say about consumption at the time? Editor: Well, still lifes like these became incredibly popular amongst the rising merchant class during the 19th century. They were statements of wealth and good taste, reflecting the growing availability of goods, even the more exotic varieties depicted. But I agree, there is something beyond simple display here. Curator: Precisely! These fruits, from the perspective of a Materialist lens, were goods transported via commercial trade systems. There’s inherent value within their production that is so beautifully celebrated by the artist, even today. Editor: That interplay between the natural and the societal, it seems to be very prominent in this time! But I wonder about that little goldfinch. Its inclusion elevates this above a simple display of bounty; birds are historically rich with symbolic weight, particularly freedom and perhaps fragility. Curator: Consider the societal structure it sits within, though; it rests peacefully perched above what we could recognize to be goods produced from indentured labor or colonization. Even in nature, there’s an inherent balance to observe. Editor: True. I would suggest we are, perhaps, too prone to project meaning retrospectively? Though certainly, the bird seems to preside over a domain that speaks to prosperity, albeit one with an edge of transience; over-ripe fruit, after all, begins to rot. I feel like we could consider the relationship between the museums and gallery owners who might choose to display this. Curator: An ever important concept indeed, though that brings a deeper discussion into curation as a material production on its own... Editor: A perfect segue for another day! I will be thinking about the goldfinch's potential symbolic intent as I go grab an over-ripe peach for myself.