Fruits on a Red Table

After studying at the art school in Krak_w, from 1910, Kisling lived in Paris. In 1924, he became naturalized as a French citizen. Being of Jewish origin, he sought asylum in the United States during the Second World War and returned to France in 1946. He was a leading artist among the _cole de Paris and was good at portraits and still lifes.

Though Kisling was a key figure among the artists in Montparnasse in Paris, being of Jewish origin, avoiding the ravages of the Second World War, in 1941, he fled to the United States. This painting is considered to have been done in the United States. Pears, apples, grapes, and other fruits are placed in a jostle on a red table. The strong light shining from the left makes the flamboyant colors of the fruit stand out, projecting an intense contrast with the shaded part. Together with the slightly unbalanced composition, this amplifies an unstable impression. Perhaps this is a reflection of the feeling of uneasiness about the war. This painting amply demonstrates the characteristics of this artist such as the way he depicts the fruit lustrously like porcelain, the way he constructs the forms concisely in a method acquired through his association with Picasso, Derain, and Modigliani, and the artistic style employing primary colors, which appears glamorous at first sight but is also doleful.