1907 Рtude pour la nature morte (fruits dans une coupe) Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1889-1907

Here we observe a study depicting a still life arrangement – a bowl filled with fruit set upon a surface. The composition is characterized by a deliberate lack of refinement; it appears as a preliminary sketch rather than a finished work. The artist employed a mixed media approach, combining pastel and pencil to achieve the effect.
The fruit itself, predominantly oranges and what seems to be a lemon, are rendered with a loose, almost gestural quality. Their forms are not precisely defined but suggested through broad strokes of color and shading. This contributes to an overall sense of immediacy and spontaneity. The bowl, depicted in darker tones, provides a visual anchor for the arrangement, its outline sketched with a confident line that contrasts with the softer rendering of the fruit.
The surface beneath the bowl is treated similarly – a wash of muted colors suggests light and shadow without attempting detailed representation. This flatness reinforces the sketch-like nature of the work. The artist’s hand is evident in the visible strokes and smudges, which contribute to a feeling of directness and intimacy.
Subtly, the composition hints at an exploration of form and volume through simplified means. It seems less concerned with replicating reality faithfully than with capturing the essence of the objects – their weight, their texture, their presence. The deliberate roughness suggests a process of investigation, as if the artist is working out ideas about how to represent these commonplace objects in a new way. Theres an underlying tension between observation and abstraction; the forms are recognizable but also distorted by the artist’s expressive handling of materials. This approach anticipates later developments in artistic representation, where the emphasis shifts from mimetic accuracy to subjective interpretation.