Tabletop with Pears

A charming and characterful mid-century still life composition executed in tempera on board, by the established Swedish artist Eric Cederberg (1897-1984), whose artworks have been represented in several public and museum collections across Sweden.

The painting presents a tabletop still life of pears and a smoking pipe, set against a stylised interior and a glimpse of landscape beyond.

At the centre, a scalloped white bowl holds a cluster of elongated pears, their simplified silhouettes rising almost sculpturally from the composition. Alongside sits a halved pear, its creamy flesh punctuated by dark seeds and flashes of green, while a long white pipe stretches across the foreground. The unusual pairing lends the scene a playful, slightly surreal quality, transforming familiar domestic objects into a carefully arranged study of shape and form.

The work has a distinctly modernist sensibility, with perspective flattened and objects reduced to bold, graphic shapes. Rather than striving for naturalism, the artist plays with proportion, pattern and overlapping planes. The strongly grained tabletop, dotted backdrop and small landscape visible through the opening at right introduce decorative elements that give the composition considerable character.

The palette is beautifully earthy and restrained, bringing together olive and moss greens, browns, muted mauve and charcoal, offset by the warm ivory and pale yellow of the bowl and sliced pear. A patch of powdery blue in the distant landscape provides a cool counterpoint to the predominantly autumnal tones.

Executed in tempera, the paint has a characteristically matte, velvety surface. Brushwork is controlled and largely concealed within broad areas of flat colour, while finer painted lines articulate the grain of the table and smaller details. Subtle variations within the painted surfaces prevent the graphic forms from feeling overly precise, retaining the handmade quality so appealing in mid-century works.

The painting is presented in a well-suited gilt frame with a wide muted sage-grey mount. The painting is in excellent vintage condition, and the frame has some marks.