Writing Archives - Stewed Pears . com

Conviviality Near the Inn – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 05:00:03 +0000

The first time I looked at Conviviality Near the Inn, all I saw were the peasants, dancing and hawking wares. The second time I looked, the more to me it seemed the castle (or church) dominated half the painting, not...

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Boy with a Basket of Fruit – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 03:36:53 +0000

One of the joys of this food/art/poem project of mine is imagining life outside the painting, which leads me to research. Information on child labour in the US here. A little look at historic tin toys here. And it’s not...

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Strawberries and Cream – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Sun, 31 May 2026 03:41:06 +0000

Raphaelle Peale was considered to be the U.S.’s first professional still-life painter. He was son of Charles Willson Peale, brother to Rembrandt and Rubens, nephew of James Peale, and his cousins were Anna Claypoole, Margaretta Peale, and Sarah Peale. But...

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Old Partner – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Sat, 16 May 2026 03:26:17 +0000

Why choose to paint a broken down old kettle? According to Artvee.com, John Frederick Peto was a trompe l’oeil specialist, and painted objects at their actual size. This old kettle painting is only 12.7 x 20.3 cm (5 x 8...

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The Strawberry Girl – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Sat, 16 May 2026 03:17:55 +0000

Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) painted more than two thousand portraits in various styles. Many are very much like The Strawberry Girl, with strong dark and light contrasts, and, almost, awkward figures. Phillips managed a steady income as a portrait artist, often...

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Oysters – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Wed, 13 May 2026 03:06:00 +0000

Human consumption of oysters dates back to prehistoric times. The oyster then moves through a period of delicacy in Ancient Rome, back to being poor people’s food in Medieval Europe, a boom period during the 19th century, and back to...

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Two Bunches of Grapes for Wine Lovers – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Mon, 11 May 2026 05:49:00 +0000

For those who like a glass of wine, becoming a vigneron is a rose-tinted-glasses dream. I don’t know if that’s what Andrew John Henry Way was thinking when he painted Two Bunches of Grapes, but it’s certainly what I thought...

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Gooseberries – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Mon, 11 May 2026 05:13:08 +0000

The gooseberries in this still life seem to leap off the canvas. It’s no wonder the artist, George Forster, was credited with making the gooseberry a popular still life subject. I was interested in Forster’s particular choice of fruit, too....

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A Peach, Seville – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:10:47 +0000

George Henry Hall decided to become an artist at the age of 16, and eight years later, proceeds from the sales of his paintings enabled him to go on the first of many trips to Europe. While he loved the...

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The Baker’s Cart – A Poem

Stewed Pears.com — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:06:38 +0000

This painting was unusual for its time for several reasons. The painter, Jean Michelin, was most certainly not commissioned to paint this, as he would have been were the family wealthy, nor were there any guarantees he could sell a...

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