# Still Life with Fish, Bread, and Kettle

**Luis Meléndez** (Spanish, 1716–1780)  
c. 1772  
oil on canvas  
Framed: 54 x 67 x 5 cm (21 1/4 x 26 3/8 x 1 15/16 in.); Unframed: 34 x 48 cm (13 3/8 x 18 7/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1983.97. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1983.97).

## About this work

During the 1760s, after painting portraits and portrait miniatures with his father, Meléndez began to specialize in still lifes. Active mainly in Madrid, he is regarded as the finest Spanish still-life painter of the 18th century, but he spent much of his life in poverty.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Luis Meléndez painted this in about 1772, aged about 51. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Luis Meléndez](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/luis-melendez)

Spanish, 1716–1780; born in Naples; died in Madrid

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Spain
- The artist was about 51
- Real size: about 13 × 19 in (34 × 48 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 18th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/719.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/719/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/still-life-with-fish-bread-and-kettle-cma-151555).