Within the seeming homogeneity of the mode
of object display in these works, there is wide
variation among the groupings. Some are simple
renderings ofthe fruits and vegetables (Stil Life
with Maniac, Still Life with Coconuts, and Stil Life
with Calabash), while others (Still Life with Cala-
bash and Fruitand especially Still Life with Water:
‘melons, Pineapple, and Other Fruit) are displayed
as piled up on the left side of the canvas, cascad-
ing to the right in the dramatic manner of a
sumptuous floral painting. A superficial inter-
pretation of the natural objects in Eckhout’s
still lifes might refer to them as depicting the
fruits of the New World, metaphors for the Euro
pean desire to possess and colonize the land. In
fact, however, there are both New World and Old
World foods represented here. In five of the
twelve paintings, vegetables native to Europe
(including melons, cabbages, radishes, cucum-
bers, and bottle gourds) are shown alongside
those from tropical climates (passion fruit, gua
vas, coconuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pineapples,
papayas, mangoes, bananas, palm fruit, cactus,
and manioc). This combination could be taken
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