Still-Life

Ribot painted this still life following the principles of the Realist movement led by Gustave Courbet. Realist artists endeavoured to render nature as they captured it, far from any form of idealisation. Ribot was inspired by the works of those 17th-century Spanish artists who had discovered the essence of Naturalism. In the mid-19th century there were numerous works of Spanish art in Paris, which had been taken to the French capital during the Spanish War of Independence. The creation of king Louis Philip’s Spanish Gallery, which remained in the Louvre until 1848, also helped to increase this presence. Ribot was especially interested in Ribera’s treatment of figures and objects and his dramatic use of chiaroscuro.