Professor Butter Beard and Vincent’s “Still Life with Pears”
“Home-grown pears are best eaten in the bath – they’re so juicy, it’s the easiest way to stay clean!” ― Mitchell Beazley, author of “Food Glorious Food”
I smelled them as I opened the market’s doors. Ripe pears. I first wondered if the market pumped the aroma out into the parking lot, like a certain donut franchise, enticing you in with a magnetic pull. I brushed past the other early coffee-sipping shoppers and followed the scent through the produce section to the bin overflowing with the delicious fruits just teetering on the finishing edge of their freshness. They smiled at me, slightly bruised, and literally jumped from their bin into my basket, begging to be loved and devoured. I happily obliged.
The pear has been with us since prehistoric times – dried slices have even been unearthed in Swiss cave dwellings from the Ice Age. Pears are found in Homer’s 9th century BCE epic poem, The Odyssey, where they are described as “gifts of the gods” which grew in the garden of the King of the Phaeacians.
Depictions of pears in art can be dated back 3000 years to Ancient Egypt, where still life paintings of foodstuffs were thought to become tangible in the afterlife, ready for the deceased to feast upon. In Ancient Rome and Pompeii, exquisite mosaics highlighted the fruit as symbols of the hospitality of the host and celebrations of the seasons. The pear is found in Renaissance religious paintings, representing Christ’s love and the mother Mary. Perhaps the most famous is Giovanni Bellini’s 15th century painting which is often referred to as “Madonna of the Pear.” A bit more recently, Pablo Picasso and Georgia O’Keefe also expressed their admiration, each in their own incredibly personal way.
But for me, the soul of the pear is most perfectly captured by my personal favorite – the sublime master Vincent van Gogh. “Still Life with Pears” is one of a group of related canvases featuring seasonal fruit that Vincent painted while in Paris during the winter of 1887. A curator, working for the Art Institute of Chicago writes, “In these works, he simplified his palette, employed more vibrant colors, and used a thicker, broader paint application than he had earlier. Here he explored the use of complementary colors—yellow and purple, blue and orange, and red and green—in the service of chromatic intensity. The effect of these color contrasts is heightened by the pulsating pattern of brushstrokes that defines the tablecloth and creates a force field around the fruit.” The glowing pears appear to be seen from above yet are placed very close to the picture plane in a tightly undefined space. Pieces of fruit appear to tip forward and threaten to roll out of the picture frame, much like the market fruits longing to escape from their bins.
“Still Life with Pears” was included in an exhibition, organized by Vincent, in November of 1887 at the Restaurant du Chalet in Montmartre. He included about a hundred of his own works and others painted his friends Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Emile Bernard and Louis Émile Anquetin. Vincent jokingly named the group “peintres du Petit Boulevard” in contrast to the artists of the great boulevards, the Impressionists, who were just beginning to enjoy their recognition. Bernard sold his first painting at the show and wrote to friends that he was honored to be included alongside the avant-garde Vincent van Gogh and his “violent still lifes.”
In February of 1888, feeling depleted from life in Paris, Vincent left, having painted more than 200 paintings during his two years there. He sought refuge in Arles, and there began a fresh series of paintings exploring a new subject for his still lifes – the sunflower.
As I let myself travel deep into Vincent’s study of pears, I begin to experience the warmth of the winter sun, the rich golds of the fruit’s skin, and the vibrantly dancing aromas of cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. In this week’s bake, my market pears have been concentrated into a thick glossy sauce and then baked into a spiced bundt cake layered with toasted hazelnut streusel. I imagine enjoying a slice on the patio of the Restaurant du Chalet watching Vincent and his friends approach, laden with their canvases, laughing and hugging each other with joy and anticipation. Well done, Vincent. Well done.
Cinnamon Pearsauce Bundt Cake with Hazelnut Streusel
One delicious Bundt Cake
Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp finely ground black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
¼ cup honey
4 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup buttermilk
1 cup homemade pearsauce (or applesauce)
Hazelnut Streusel:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp fine sea salt
4 ounces unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
1) Make or purchase your pearsauce. (My recipe can be found by searching on the website.)
2) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
3) Make your streusel: Whisk together the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife (or quickly with your fingers). Toss in the chopped nuts with your fingers. Set aside. You will have more than is required for this cake. Freeze the remaining streusel to top muffins or coffee cakes.
4) Prepare your bundt pan by spraying with baking spray with flour.
5) In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and pepper, and spices.
6) In a standing mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and honey until light and fluffy. This should take about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time. On low, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the pearsauce.
7) Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle ½ cup of the streusel over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan and sprinkle with another ½ cup of the streusel.
8) Bake the bundt for 50-55 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Let the cake rest on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then invert onto your serving dish. Before serving, dust the cake with confectionary sugar. Serve with some additional pearsauce on the side.
Pablo Picasso, “Dish of Pears,” 1936, Tate, London, UK.
