Still-Life with Pumpkin, Plums, Cherries, Figs and Jug

Ribot painted his still-lifes by night, using artificial light to create shadows and confer greater volume and texture upon his objects. In this work he presents a large pumpkin on a silver platter, together with figs, cherries and plums and a decorated ceramic jug. To enliven the composition Ribot makes an allusion to human intervention - someone has cut a piece of pumpkin; on the left a fig has been squashed to reveal the juicy pulp and on the right one of the plums has been cut in halves. A strong light enters the composition from the left, illuminating the spherical shapes of the pumpkin and the jug, albeit leaving the latter and part of the fruit in darkness.