Apple, Grapes and a Cob-Nut

William Henry Hunt’s Apple, Grapes and a Cob-Nut dates to about 1850 and belongs to the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art. The museum records a sheet measuring 12.7 cm high by 18.7 cm wide, worked in watercolor and gouache over graphite on slightly textured cream wove paper. It is signed “W. HUNT” in black ink at the lower left and is not dated; about 1850 is the museum’s dating.

The yellow apple occupies the left, the purple grapes gather toward the upper right, and the cob-nut lies close to the ground at the lower right. They offer three different shapes: one broad volume, a cluster of overlapping rounded fruits, and a small elongated shell that brings the eye back to the foreground. Yellow beside purple makes a strong contrast, while the brown earth and mossy greens hold the colours together.

Look closely and the apple’s light side is not smooth; the grapes are not simply dark purple either. Small marks, texture and shifts of light make their surfaces feel tangible. Follow the slender stems above the grapes and the pale fragments among the moss. The fruit begins to belong to its surroundings. There is no tablecloth or plate: low earth, stones and moss give this small still life an entire setting.