Still Life with Asparagus

About the Artwork

Rousseau was profoundly influenced by the atmospheric still lifes of Jean Siméon Chardin (1699-1779), whom the artist and other French painters like François Bonvin (1817-1877) rediscovered in the mid-1800s. A comparison with Chardin's work, also shown in this gallery, indicates that Rousseau similarly depicted foodstuffs on a simple kitchen table, concentrating on rich textures and restrained colors.

Inscriptions

Signed lower left: Ph. Rousseau. / à son ami A Arago

Provenance

After 1880- ?: Alfred Arago [1815-1892], Paris ?: Charles Guérin, Lyon 1977: (Sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 9-10, 1977 (no. 100), sold to Galerie Galerie Brame-Lorenceau) 1977: (Galerie Brame-Lorenceau, Paris, sold to Noah L. Butkin and Muriel S. Butkin) 1977-1980: Noah L. [1918-1980] and Muriel S. Butkin [1915-2008], Cleveland, OH, bequeathed to the Cleveland Museum of Art as a result of disclaimer by Muriel S. Butkin 1980-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

The Realist Tradition: French Painting and Drawing 1830 - 1900. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 12, 1980-January 18, 1981). Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981). Consuming Passions: The Art of Food and Drink. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 26-October 9, 1983). Philippe Rousseau. Van Gogh Museum (organizer) (September 10-November 14, 1993). Praised and Ridiculed: French Painting 1820 - 1880. Kunsthaus Zürich, CH-8024 Zürich, Switzerland (organizer) (November 10, 2017-January 28, 2018). Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism. The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (October 11, 2024-January 5, 2025) https://chrysler.org/exhibition/farm-to-table-art-food-and-identity-in-the-age-of-impressionism/; Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (January 31-May 4, 2025) https://fristartmuseum.org/exhibition/farm-to-table/; The Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH (June 13-September 21, 2025); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (October 23, 2025-January 19, 2026).

Quick Overview

Artist: Philippe Rousseau (French, 1816–1887)
Date: c. 1880
Medium: oil on fabric
Dimensions: Unframed: 36 x 65 cm (14 3/16 x 25 9/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Bequest of Noah L. Butkin
Accession no.: 1980.284

More by Philippe Rousseau in museum collections

Still Life with Ham
Philippe Rousseau
1870s · Painting
Public collection via the Metropolitan Museum of ArtAT-00015687

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.