“Still Life with Peppers” is an artwork by Camille Pissarro, created in the year 1899. It is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 54.5 x 65.5 cm and currently held in a private collection. The work is an exemplar of the Impressionism movement, distinguished by its depiction of light and its influence on the surfaces and contours of everyday subjects. The genre of the painting is still life, featuring a selection of objects arranged for aesthetic contemplation.
The artwork presents a robust and textured exploration of everyday objects with an emphasis on color and light, hallmarks of the Impressionist approach. Pissarro portrays a domestic scene with a balance of form and tone that animates the canvas. The composition foregrounds a tabletop arrangement with a gourd, a red vessel adorned with green, and an array of vibrant peppers, both red and green, all resting on a white cloth with palpable folds—each object carefully chosen for its color and shape. Below, the suggestion of a patterned rug and the rough texture of the wall or backdrop converse with the smooth, shiny surfaces of the tableware. Through the use of loose, visible brushstrokes and juxtaposition of color, Pissarro recreates the sensation of ambient light and the vitality of the inanimate subjects, revealing the transient beauty inherent in the mundane.
