Apples and Peaches on a Table 1726 - 1763

Johan Hörner painted these apples, peaches, and plums on a table with oil on canvas sometime in the 18th century. These fruits, arranged against a dark background, evoke the vanitas tradition, reminding us of life's brevity and the inevitability of decay. The fruit carries layers of meaning. Take the apple. In Christian iconography, it symbolizes temptation and the fall of humanity, yet in other contexts, it represents love, knowledge, and abundance. This duality echoes through time, from the mythical golden apples of the Hesperides to the symbolic apple in Snow White. Similarly, the peach, with its soft flesh and sweet taste, often signifies immortality and fertility in Eastern art. Together, these fruits create a silent dialogue about desire, mortality, and the cyclical nature of existence, engaging our subconscious with primal themes that resonate across cultures.