Still Life with a Bowl of Strawberries, Basket of Cherries, and Branch of Gooseberries, 1631

Louise Moillon was among the greatest French still-life painters of the seventeenth century. Her paintings are remarkable for their elegance and restraint, the equilibrium of their compositions, and a delicate technique that reveals the qualities of fresh, ripe fruit and vegetables, provoking a sense of serenity and mystery. Here, the texture of the wild strawberries in a blue and white Wanli bowl suggests their delicacy, sweetness, and aroma. Nearby, bright, glossy cherries in a wicker basket are protected by deep green leaves with sawtooth edges. The little branch of gooseberries, with two jade-green globes strategically placed at the very edge of the table, balances the basket and bowl. Just above, a single ruby cherry invites admiration. Throughout the composition, Moillon creates a simple yet sophisticated balance of color and tone. Her approach to still life—excluding anecdote and symbolism—reflects the keen market in Paris for fresh produce, as she portrays the delectable fruit that would have been scrupulously selected by ladies, their cooks, and their maidservants and proudly served at table.

Much remains unknown about Moillon’s career, but she earned renown in her own time. Five of her paintings of fruits are listed in the inventory of King Charles I of England. Both Louise’s father and stepfather were Protestant painters and picture dealers in Paris, enabling Louise to study the still lifes by Flemish and Dutch artists along with paintings in a more sober and less decorative manner by their contemporary French counterparts. At an early age she forged an elegant yet unpretentious style of still life, distinctly French in character. Moillon apparently stopped painting soon after her marriage in 1640 at age thirty to a wealthy Protestant lumber merchant. Her last known signed painting dates to 1641.