Louyse Moillon

Louyse Moillon (circa 1610 - 1696), La nature morte au Grand Siècle, Paris, Galerie Eric Coatalem, 13 novembre - 12 décembre 2009, n°3

On the naked eye: The painting appears in overall good condition. It is painted in a 3 plank cradled panel. The painting is stable and do not show any lifting. The painting has been correctly cleaned. Under UV light: There is an uniform green varnish. There are some restorations all along the plank junctions. There are also some very light restorations spots on the bitter oranges and some small restorations in and under the ledge, from the centre to the lower right corner.
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Louyse Moillon reste fidèle à ses convictions artistiques, mais sa manière se fait plus complexe dans ce panier de bigarades et grenades qui peut être daté vers 1650. Optant pour une disposition des fruits plus libre et spontanée, elle parvient à donner vie à l'ensemble. Les fruits se voient confier le premier rôle, subtilement mis en scène par un jeu d'ombre et de lumière dans une composition à la fois sobre et élégante. Ce procédé du clair-obscur dont elle use davantage dans ses oeuvres de maturité lui permet d'accentuer le volume des fruits et de dynamiser l'espace tout en lui conférant une tension dramatique.

S'agit-il simplement d'une pièce décorative d'extrême qualité ou doit-on y déceler une portée plus morale? L'oeuvre nous semble en effet presque baignée d'un sentiment de recueillement. De confession protestante, Louyse Moillon était très attachée à sa communauté et à la religion. Le choix des fruits n'est peut-être d'ailleurs pas si anodin, des fruits dont on connaît la symbolique spirituelle très forte.  La grenade, avec ses grains serrés sous une même écorce, symbolise en effet l'Eglise et les fidèles unis dans la foi chrétienne.

Louyse Moillon remained true to her artistic convictions, but her manner is more complex with this basket of bitter oranges and pomegranates which can be dated around 1650. Opting for positioning the fruit freely and spontaneously, she manages to give life to the layout. The fruits are given primary roles and subtly staged within a play of shadows and light in a composition that is both simple and elegant. This process of chiaroscuro was employed more in her mature works which emphasized the volume of the fruits and vitalized the space while giving it a dramatic tension.

Is it simply a decorative piece of high quality or shall one detect a moral significance? The work seems almost flooded with a sense of reverence. Louyse Moillon as a Protestant was very attached to her community and religion. The choice of fruit is perhaps also not so innocuous with their well-known strong spiritual symbolism. The pomegranate with its compact seeds under the same peel, symbolizes the Church and the faithful united in the Christian faith.