Three Perfect Peaches: An Old French Folktale

Fede Galizia, A Glass Compote with Peaches, Jasmine Flowers, Quinces and a Grasshopper, 1607, private collection.

Perfect Peaches?

When I tell this story in classrooms, it’s fun to ask students to describe their idea of a “perfect peach.” What makes a peach “perfect?” Is it ever possible to find an absolutely perfect peach?

Many artists have painted peaches, and lots of other kinds of fruits for hundreds of years. This kind of painting is called a “still life,” and can include all kinds of fruit, flowers, vegetables, cheese - and even lobsters! Some artists love to show the way light shines differently off of different kinds of natural objects. Some love to make elaborate arrangements, and some like to show lots of tiny details about each object.

A woman named Fede Galizia painted this beautiful still life that has been called “Peaches in a Glass Bowl with Quinces and a Grasshopper” over four hundred years ago.

Would you say the peaches in that bowl are perfect, or not quite? I notice a few lumps here and a few spots there. The quince on the table that has been cut in half, ready to eat, is beginning to turn a little brown. And what’s that grasshopper doing there? Maybe it’s getting ready to snack on some of the leaves!

I love this painting because, even if the peaches and quinces are not perfect, Ms. Galizia made them look perfectly real

peale peaches yale.jpg

Still Life: Basket of Peaches

Here’s another painting of peaches, painted by the American artist Rembrandt Peale in 1816.

Rembrandt Peale was the son of one of Americas first great artist, Mr. Charles Willson Peale. Both the father and the son painted President George Washington. Rembrandt Peale lived in Philadelphia and he loved all kinds of plants - including peaches!

To see this painting on the Yale Art Gallery website, click here.

Send me a note!

I love receiving drawings and letters from students. If you would like to make an illustration for the story “The Three Perfect Peaches,” or maybe your own still life, you can send it to me by clicking here.