The Peppermint Bottle

Paul Cezanne

National Gallery of Art

A glass bottle, a glass carafe, a stemmed glass, several pieces of fruit, and white and blue cloths are arranged on a wooden table in this horizontal still life. The bottle and carafe are at the center of this composition. The bottle has a crimson-red label, and the carafe has a tall, narrow neck and a rounded body. The stemmed glass has straight, flaring sides, and it sits on the table just in front of the carafe. Several pieces of fruit, painted in reds and yellows, are interspersed on the white cloth that surrounds the glassware. The muted, celestial-blue tablecloth is patterned with scrolls and leaves, and it bunches around the objects on the tabletop. The wall behind the table is mottled with cool blues and greens, and a brown line, perhaps a chair rail, runs from behind the still life to the right edge of the painting. Short brushstrokes are visible throughout.