Known for his “radiant sunlight” and “filmy atmosphere”, Sanford Robinson Gifford’s style as a master landscaper was well established by the 1860s. Around the time he was painting Two Pears, he was chosen as one of two artists (the other was Winslow Homer) to represent American art at an 1867 Paris exposition. That painting was Hunter Mountain, Twilight (1866), which can be seen here.
I was interested in the very deliberate placement of the items in Two Pears on a Tabletop, and their relationship to each other.
More of my ekphrastic poetry here. More on the cinquain here.
Two Pears on a Tabletop
married
plated, sated
sliceable, vulnerable,
separated, obligated
liqueured
ยฉelsp 2026
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