Still Life with Two Jars and Two Pumpkins

Van Gogh's 1885 still life with two jars and two pumpkins belongs to the autumn harvest still lifes he painted at Nuenen — practical objects of the kitchen and garden assembled with the serious attention he brought to all still-life subjects. Pumpkins with their impressive size and varied orange-yellow color provided good material for studying the modeling of large, rounded forms, while the jars offered different material qualities in contrast. This characteristic combination of ceramic and vegetable material reflects Van Gogh's interest in the honest materiality of domestic life. The work is currently in a private collection.

The pumpkins and jars are rendered with Van Gogh's Nuenen period directness — the large, rounded forms of the pumpkins modeled with his characteristic dark palette, the earthenware jars providing different textural material alongside them. His composition arranges the objects with practical simplicity rather than elaborate staging.