Apples and a Pan

Jules Bidlingmeyer 1830 - 1893

Summary

A plain, wooden kitchen table is laid with the ingredients and utensils for making a conserve: six apples, a copper saucepan, a drainer spoon and a tall glass jar, set against a plain, dark background. Little is known about the life of Jules Bidlingmeyer, except that he was a native of Mulhouse, Alsace. This simple still life painting is typical of the work of late-19th-century followers of Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), whose austere still lifes enjoyed a significant revival of interest at that time. From the mid-1720s to the late 1730s, strongly influenced by Dutch 17th-century still lifes, Chardin painted many examples of food and kitchen utensils, characterised by soft lighting and a delicate tonal range of greys, blues and browns that emphasised the mundaneness of the subject matter.