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Weber studied at the Pratt Institute in New York before travelling to Paris to study in 1905. It was while he was in Europe that he met Rousseau, Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Inspired by the works of Cézanne as well as his friendship with Picasso, Weber was one of the earliest American artists to explore Cubism. He had met the Spanish artist in Paris and at that time acquired one of his still lifes—which became the first painting by Picasso to enter the United States when Weber returned to New York.
In this early pastel, we can see the influence of Cézanne in Weber's flattening of the pictorial plane--the table seems to float in space, tilting forward at an unnatural angle, with the small arrangement of everyday objects balanced upon it. The only hint of the space the table occupies is the blue drapery in the background, leaving us as the viewer to take in and contemplate the vase, cup and fruit on the table.
ProvenanceThomas Colville Fine Art, New York
Artist
Max Weber
(American, 1881 - 1961)
Still Life with Fruit, Vase, and Cup
Date1910
DimensionsSight: 11 × 8 7/8 in. (27.9 × 22.5 cm)
Object numberN0005.2024(02)
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextRussian-born Jewish American painter, Max Weber is best known for introducing Cubism to the United States. Weber was hugely influenced by the work of Henri Rousseau Henri Matisse and Paul Cézanne.Weber studied at the Pratt Institute in New York before travelling to Paris to study in 1905. It was while he was in Europe that he met Rousseau, Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. Inspired by the works of Cézanne as well as his friendship with Picasso, Weber was one of the earliest American artists to explore Cubism. He had met the Spanish artist in Paris and at that time acquired one of his still lifes—which became the first painting by Picasso to enter the United States when Weber returned to New York.
In this early pastel, we can see the influence of Cézanne in Weber's flattening of the pictorial plane--the table seems to float in space, tilting forward at an unnatural angle, with the small arrangement of everyday objects balanced upon it. The only hint of the space the table occupies is the blue drapery in the background, leaving us as the viewer to take in and contemplate the vase, cup and fruit on the table.
ProvenanceThomas Colville Fine Art, New York
On View
Not on view
