Cézanne's still lifes are both traditional and modern.
The fruits and objects are readily identifiable, but they have no aroma, no
sensual or tactile appeal and no other function other than as passive decorative
objects coexisting in the same flat space. The special attraction of still
life to Cézanne was the ability, to some extent, to control the structure.
He brooded over his apples, jugs, tables, and curtains, arranging them with
infinite variety. Still Life with Apples and Peaches glows with a romantic
energy, as hugely present at Mont Sainte-Victoire. Here too is a mountain,
and here too sanctity and victory: the fruits lie on the table with an active
power that is not just seen but experienced. The jug bulges, not with any
contents, but with its own weight of being. The curtain swags gloriously,
while the great waterfall of the napkin absorbs and radiates light onto the
table on which all this life is earthed.
Apples, Peaches and Grapes