Juan Sánchez Cotán, Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber

Juan Sánchez Cotán, 1560--1627 Quince, Cabbage, Melon, and Cucumber ca. 1602 Size: 27 1/8 in. x 33 1/4 in. (68.9 cm x 84.5 cm) Gift of Anne R. and Amy Putnam, 1945:43 Still-life painting was virtually nonexistent in European art before the 1590s, and Sánchez Cotán is considered not only among the first practitioners of the genre, but also arguably the greatest. This work, moreover, is universally acclaimed as his masterpiece. Brilliantly executed, the painting is unflinching in its naturalism and