Still Life with Peach, Apricot, Grapes and Hazelnuts on a Tablecloth, Emelie Preyer

19th century German still life painter Emelie Preyer shows her characteristic touch with the textural surface and beautifully balanced color of these simple fruits and nuts.

Her composition is thoughtfully conceived, and the value and color relationships lead your eye inexorably around and through the painting.

Emelie Prier’s primary teacher was likely her father, Johann Wilhelm Preyer, who was also a superb still life painter.

Woodland Stream, Hugo Darnaut, oil on panel, roughly 18 x 12 inches (46 x 32 cm); link is to downloadable file on Wikimedia Commons; original is in a private collection; image via Dorotheum auction.

Austrian painter Hugo Darnaut (AKA Hugo Fix), who was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gives us a tranquil scene of a small stream winding through a forest — perhaps just what we need in the midst of a stressful day.

I like the economical way he has indicated the foliage and resolved what was likely a complex background into simpler shapes.

The Guitar Player, Joseph Rodefer DeCamp; oil on canvas, roughly 50 x 45 inches (126 x 115 cm); in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which offers a downloadable version of the image.

On closer inspection, this beautiful and serene image by Boston School master Joseph Rodefer DeCamp reveals much less detail than an initial glance might lead you to expect. DeCamp has defined the figure and environment with just enough information to allow your eye to make the image seem complete and immediate.

The feeling of light is almost Vermeer-like, softly suffusing the space with subtle color. Look at the transition from cool to warm within the wall, and the way the colors intermingle in the process.

This is also a beautiful example of the power of soft edges, against which a few harder edges control your eye’s movement within the composition.

I have not seen the original, but it’s on my bucket list.