Still Life with Four Apples (Stilleben mit vier Früchten in Schale vor dunkelgrünem Grunde)

Still Life with Four Apples (Stilleben mit vier Früchten in Schale vor dunkelgrünem Grunde) is an important early work by Paul Klee, created in 1909. Classified by the Museum of Modern Art as a drawing, this intimate piece employs a complex mixed-media technique, utilizing both oil and gouache applied onto a rigid board support. This combination allowed Klee to leverage the dense saturation of oil alongside the opaque, matte quality of gouache, resulting in a rich surface texture.

At this stage in his career, the German artist was still developing the distinctive formal vocabulary that would define his later Bauhaus years. The subject adheres to the traditional genre of the still life, focusing narrowly on the presentation of four rounded fruits set within a shallow dish, silhouetted against a deeply muted, dark green background indicated in the subtitle. Klee renders the objects with a simplified, almost rudimentary perspective, moving away from strict representation toward an expressive flattening of form.

The composition reveals Klee’s early preoccupation with the interplay between light, shadow, and defined color fields. The atmosphere is quiet and constrained, reflecting the tentative steps toward modernist abstraction unfolding within the European art world. This 1909 piece predates the major travel experiences that profoundly influenced Klee’s chromatic approach, yet it demonstrates his foundational ability to create visual resonance through careful balance of object and negative space.

Still Life with Four Apples offers crucial insight into the formative development of the influential master. The work resides within the prestigious collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Due to the historical significance of this early masterwork, prints and reproductions are frequently produced for study and appreciation by a broader audience.