Apples and Leaves 1879

Ilya Repin made this still life "Apples and Leaves" in 1879 using oil on canvas. The smooth surface, the layering of colors, and the illusion of three dimensions are all features of oil painting, which was by then a firmly established fine art tradition. Yet still life is also connected to labor and class. Think about where these apples came from. Perhaps Repin grew them in his own garden, but more likely they were purchased from a farmer who brought them to market. The leaves, too, would have been gathered. There's a definite sense of the harvest here, a bounty from the earth being brought into the domestic sphere. The dark background really makes those apples pop. The painting isn’t only about the fruit, though. It's about all the labor that makes the consumption of that fruit possible. Looking closely at the canvas helps us to see these connections, and to appreciate the simple beauty of the everyday.