PONCE, Antonio
(b. 1608, Valladolid, d. 1677, Madrid)

Still-Life of Apples, Pears and Figs in a Wicker Basket on a Stone Ledge

c. 1651
Oil on canvas, 44 x 64 cm
Private collection

The large dark vine leaves and fruit are back-lit and are sharply silhouetted against the luminous background, to quite dramatic effect. Ponce's use of this effect strongly indicates the indirect influence of Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan, almost 50 years after it was created.