Melon et fruits

André Derain
Melon et fruits
1927
huile sur toile
H. 50 ; L. 58 cm avec cadre H. 66 ; L. 74,5 ; P. 10 cm
© Adagp, Paris, 2024 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée de l'Orangerie) / Franck Raux
André Derain (1880 - 1954)

This still life painted in warm orange and yellow tones seems to be an ode to the Mediterranean in which sun-drenched fruits are brought together: melon, peach, and grapes. The round shapes of the fruits fit into a garland of irregularly-shaped grape leaves on two diagonals that bring life to the horizontal lines of the table. The contours of the objects here are much more blurred and misty than in most of Derain's paintings. Even the material is more fluid, lighter. The painter hardly uses any contour marks except for the contours of the table cloth and on a few grapes.
In Melon and Fruits, the use of points of white derived from Dutch painting that, according to Derain, gives objects life, is remarkable in its subtlety.

Artwork not currently exhibited in the museum