Still Life With Fruit

Severin Roesen was born in Germany and emigrated to the united states in 1848, where was living,working and exhibiting in New York until 1952, when he moved to Pennsylvanis, settling eventually in Williamsport. His style includes a great attetion for bright colors. Roesen trained in the decorative arts tradition as a painter on porcelain. His lavish paintings of still lifes and flowers came from the tradition for the genre in 19th century Amercia as well as large canvases suitable for dining-room decoration. his works reveals his training as a painter of enamels and china with thier lavash drawings and bright colors and smooth surfaces. the portrait unfolds across an oval format, with a variety of fruits that spill over into the viewers space from their perch atop a marble ledge. the two vines of white grapes from opposing diagonals around which the other fruits-apples,plums,cherries,black berries, and a peach are arranged, while a birds nest holding three eggs is nestled in the lower-right hand corner.

The apples in the center are above everything else signifies a hero arctetype . the other friut are down lower and mainly besides the wall and table. there is a basket of eggs which represent the innocent archetype because a eggs represents new life.On the left side of the painting evertything is dark and on the right side it is bright. To me the friut and vines look more alive on the right. Darkness can represent poising and the brightness and symbolize being healthy and alive.