Decoding the Symbolism of Fruit in Art History

Useful tips on reading paintings

Garden of Hesperides (1898) by Albert Herter. Oil on canvas. 101.6 × 152.4 cm. Private collection.

Dear Reader,

Fruit appears in art history on a frequent basis, undoubtedly because myth and tradition have long associated fruit with the paradisal qualities of vitality and succulence — such as the mythical golden apples that grew in a beautiful garden, guarded by the three Hesperides nymphs (see image above).

As objects of temptation, fruit can also be used as a sign of weakness in those who fall to their allure. A pomegranate, for instance, is synonymous with sin and fallen women due to its inclusion in the Greek myth of Persephone, who took a single bite from the fruit and in doing so secured her fate as a prisoner of the Underworld.

The Fall of Man (1628–1629) by Peter Paul Rubens. Oil on canvas. 238 × 184.5 cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.

Apples carry more symbolic meanings than most other fruits. Tradition has it that it was an apple that Eve plucked from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil after she was lured into doing so by the cunning serpent. Whilst the Bible never mentions an apple specifically, the fruit became the commonplace choice for artists in their representations of the story, as in Rubens’ The Fall of Man painting.

Yet, like so many symbols in art, it was possible to find a reversed meaning in the symbol of an apple.

Madonna and Child under an Apple Tree (c.1530) by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Oil on canvas. 87 × 59 cm. Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia.

In this painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the Child Christ holds an apple in the left hand and a piece of bread in the other. In this scheme, the apple echoes the symbol of the original sin, whilst the bread (the body of Christ) is transformed into a sign of redemption.

In other words, if Adam and Eve were responsible for the “fall” of humankind, then Christ is suggested as being the redeemer. The symbol of an apple is a way of uniting the stories into a grander narrative, reaching back in time and stretching into the future.

Still Life with Fruits, Foliage and Insects (c. 1669) by Abraham Mignon. Oil on canvas. 58.42 × 49.53 cm. Minneapolis Institute of Art, U.S.

Fruit found additional symbolic meaning in still life paintings, especially in the rich tradition of the Dutch Golden Age, where meticulous attention to detail and symbolism converged. These works often used fruit as a visual language to convey deeper moral and philosophical ideas.

For instance, Abraham Mignon’s Still Life with Fruits, Foliage, and Insects presents an opulent spread of luscious fruit, ripe to bursting and arranged with painterly precision. At first glance, it celebrates abundance and the pleasures of earthly life. But a closer look reveals a different narrative: the vine leaves are tinged with red, hinting at decay; peaches show spots of spoilage; and insects crawl across the composition, signalling nature’s inevitable decline. These subtle elements foretell the transience of all things — the ripeness of fruit gives way to rot, just as life moves inexorably toward its end.

Drawing on the implicit meaning of fruit in art as bearers of sin, these paintings were designed to remind the viewer of the brevity of life — urging a focus on spiritual contemplation and the eternal rather than the transient delights of the material world.

As with all these brilliantly vivid paintings, the lesson we might take is that art invariably harbours hidden layers. Be it through colours, setting or the symbolism of objects, once unveiled these layers undoubtedly deepen the meaning of a work of art.

I wish you well,
Chris

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I’m Christopher P Jones - art writer and book author of Great Paintings Explained. You can find out more at chrisjoneswrites.co.uk and my regular blog on Medium.