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!9th century English still life painter Edward Ladell was obviously impressed with the still life paintings of the 17th and 18th century Dutch and Flemish masters, and carried forward in a similar style.

Many of his paintings tend to be on the small side, roughly 9 x 12″ or so (23 x 30 cm), and follow a similar motif: various food items, notably fruit and especially beautifully rendered grapes — sometimes laid on with leaves — are set out with vases and other objects, often accompanied with glassware in which two windows (presumably the windows of his studio) are reflected.

It might be formulaic, but it was a successful formula for Ladell. His compositions are filled to the edges with his subjects, giving the impression that the image can barely contain the fulsome bounty they present.

His paintings appear richly tactile, inviting the viewer to reach into the painting and pluck a juicy grape or two.

When Edward Hopper was in his early twenties, he lived in Paris for a year, and later returned on several occasions. He painted and sketched while he was there, as well as being exposed to art and artists he might not have encountered otherwise, laying the groundwork for his developing signature style.

“Hopper in Paris” was a recent show at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, consisting of paintings on loan from the extensive collection of the Whitney Museum in NY.

The Phillips Collection’s online presence for the exhibit unfortunately seems limited to one of those annoying “virtual gallery” interfaces, in which you must drag and click, drag and click, drag and click just to get a view of an individual image. I thought we had gotten rid of these gimmicks back in the 90s, but they’re apparently back thanks to the popularity of VR.

Fortunately, there are better places to view the images, such as this article on Fine Art Connoisseur, and this one on France Amérique.