Still Life with Silver  1730

Trained as a painter of animals and favored by both Louis XIV (1638–1715) and Louis XV (1710–1774), Desportes achieved fame not only for his hunting scenes but also for his opulent still lifes. This picture, probably painted in the 1720s, belongs to a type showing a buffet laden with an array of objects in silver, porcelain, and semi-precious stone as well as fruit—such as...