Still Life Fish 2 by William Merritt Chase

This sumptuous pictorial painting by Chase William Merritt, sporting the title “Still Life Fish 2”, brilliantly revisits the traditional academic genre of culinary-inspired still life. The artist carefully arranges daily ingredients to extract a rich and particularly balanced visual harmony. This poetic and rustic scene reveals the deep, hidden beauty in the humblest and quietest daily moments of country life of the past.

On a table of a dark green tone, three silvery fish lie side by side near a pewter plate. One of them, placed in the foreground, has light and shiny scales with pearly reflections, next to a small ripe tomato. Two green bell peppers, plump and glazed, rest near the fish on the left side. In the background, an elegant copper kettle with a coppery body stands out in the darkness, while to its right, a small red clay bowl completes the arrangement. The soft light illuminates the fish obliquely, making the wet surface of their bodies shine and contrasting with the dark background of the painting.

Thanks to a remarkable technical mastery of oil painting, the artist sublimates the raw beauty of these elements. The extraordinary realism of the reflections on the copper and the texture of the fish bears witness to a first-rate craftsmanship. This masterpiece of balance confirms the painter’s undeniable talent.