PEREDA, Antonio de
(b. 1611, Valladolid, d. 1678, Madrid)

Still-Life with Fruit

1650
Oil on canvas, 75 x 143 cm
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon

In this still-life, Pereda revives the time-honoured composition of objects arranged on a shallow ledge, illuminated by a strong light. Yet the granular textures and warm colours are new, distinctive elements in Spanish still-life painting. Pereda was able to find employment into the 1660s but by the time he died in 1678 his compromise style had become archaic.