Artwork
Coș cu mere
Coș cu mere is a print by Henry Lerolle. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the National Museum of Art of Romania.
About this work
Overview
“Coș cu mere,” attributed to Henry Lerolle and dated circa 1850, depicts a simple still‑life composition centered on a wicker basket brimming with red apples. The basket rests on a brown‑toned ground, surrounded by additional apples and foliage, while a distant landscape of fields, gentle hills, and a water body recedes under a light‑colored sky.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents everyday rural abundance, emphasizing the tactile qualities of fruit and basket. By placing the apples against a modest natural backdrop, Lerolle invites contemplation of harvest and the quiet dignity of ordinary objects, a theme common in mid‑nineteenth‑century genre painting.
Technique & Style
Lerolle employs a restrained palette dominated by earthy browns, muted greens, and the vivid reds of the apples, allowing the fruit to become the focal point. The brushwork suggests a careful rendering of texture—woven wicker, glossy skin, and foliage—while the background is treated with softer, atmospheric strokes that recede into distance.
History & Provenance
Created around 1850, the painting’s early ownership records are not documented in the supplied material. It remains identified as a work by Lerolle, whose oeuvre includes similar domestic and pastoral subjects, and it continues to be referenced in collections focusing on 19th‑century Romanian art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henry Lerolle (3 October 1848 – 22 April 1929) was a French painter, art collector and patron, born in Paris.
