Ginger Pot with Pomegranate and Pears

By the early 1890s Cezanne had mostly withdrawn from Paris to Aix-en-Provence, and he was painting the same handful of objects again and again: a plate, a stoneware ginger pot tied with cord, a fold of patterned cloth, and whatever fruit was to hand. This arrangement is built around a pomegranate and a few pears. He cared less about the fruit than about how the shapes held together, so he tips the tabletop toward us and lets a second table and a hanging length of cloth crowd the space, keeping the eye moving. For all its quietness, the little canvas kept good company. It once belonged to Claude Monet, who hung it at Giverny among the Cezannes he collected. The two painters were friends, and Monet bought still lifes like this one in years when almost no one else would.