Apples
Felix Vallotton's Apples as a framed fine art edition. A still life built on flat colour and hard edges, quiet on the wall and firm in its presence.
From$24900to $699.00Designing with Apples
This is a piece for a kitchen or a dining room, hung where the light is even and the wall behind it is plain. It sits well above a sideboard or a long table, centred at eye level, with the bottom edge roughly 150 cm from the floor. The palette suits sage, oatmeal, terracotta and unpainted wood, and it will not fight a linen curtain or a stone counter. The smallest size works as a single note in a hallway or beside a doorway. The larger sizes want a clear wall, because the negative space in the image needs negative space around it to read properly. Pair it with nothing, or with one other still life at the same height.
Sizes and Prices for Apples
Apples is produced as a framed poster in 3 sizes. Each is printed to order on archival stock and ships free worldwide.
Apples, and the Space Around Them
One apple leans against the others, its highlight a single pale stroke near the top of the skin. That stroke is where the eye lands first. From there the heap resolves, six or so fruit in bruised greens and flushed reds, each one grounded by a shadow that sits flat against the table. The background refuses to describe anything. It is a muted field, and it gives the apples nowhere to hide.
Vallotton worked in Paris in the 1890s among the Nabis, a group that treated painting as arrangement rather than imitation. He was known for woodcuts with stark blacks and whites, and that economy carried into his oils. Apples shows the habit. Few shapes, few colours, everything placed with intent. It is a small domestic subject handled like a design problem, and it holds a room the way a good woodcut holds a page.
Still Life After Impressionism
By the 1890s the still life had moved past illusion. Cezanne had already shown that a bowl of fruit could carry the weight of composition itself, and the Nabis pushed further, flattening depth and letting pattern and colour do the work. Vallotton belonged to that second wave. He painted ordinary interiors, domestic afternoons, food on tables, and gave them the rigidity of a poster image. The result is a genre that looks calm and behaves structurally.
What keeps attention here is the negotiation between the fruit and the emptiness. The apples occupy a narrow band, and everything above and around them is withheld. That restraint is why the picture survives daily viewing. It does not compete with a room. It measures one. Live with it a week and the flat background starts to feel like a decision about your own walls, which is exactly what a still life should do.
Flat Colour, Confident Edges
The Single Highlight
Each apple carries one highlight, placed high and left unblended. At arm's length you can see it is almost a mark rather than a rendering, a small pale comma sitting on the skin. It reads as light without describing a light source. This is the Nabis shorthand, and it is what makes the fruit feel solid instead of glossy. The eye accepts the stroke and builds the roundness itself.
Where Depth Ends
The background is a flat, slightly warm field with no gradient and no horizon. The tabletop meets it in a clean line, and the shadows under the fruit lie flat against the surface rather than receding. Stand back and the picture divides into three bands. Depth is suggested only by overlap. It is a composition that would survive reduction to two colours, which is the highest compliment a Nabis painting gets.
Weight in the Reds
The colour moves from bruised green through ochre into a deep flushed red at the centre of the heap. That red is the darkest, warmest note in the picture, and it anchors the whole band of fruit. Around it the greens stay cool and dusty. The palette is narrow, maybe five tones in total, and the discipline shows. Nothing in the picture is louder than the apple that needs to be loudest.
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What type of frame is included with this print?
Each print comes with a premium hardwood frame that features conservation-grade materials. The frame is designed to complement the artwork while providing protection and durability.
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Do you offer free worldwide shipping? How long does delivery take?
Yes, we offer free worldwide shipping on all orders with no minimum purchase required. Delivery typically takes 5-10 business days, depending on your location.
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Is the print made with archival-quality materials?
Yes. We use archival paper and UV-protective acrylic glazing to help your print maintain its colors over time.
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What is your return policy?
We offer a 30-day return policy on all orders. If you're not completely satisfied with your print, you may return it within 30 days for a full refund or exchange.
More Works by Felix Vallotton
Further works by Felix Vallotton in the Auvrique collection.
Sources & Further Reading
- See Tate — Art Terms
- As documented by Print Council of America
- Reference: Elle Decor
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Own Apples
Felix Vallotton, produced as a framed poster and made to order. Complimentary delivery, worldwide.
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