A dented copper kettle rests on a forest-green tablecloth in this horizontal still life painting. The kettle takes up the left two-thirds of the composition, and the finial of the lid and the tall spout nearly reach the top edge of the painting. The spout is angled to our right, and the far side of the kettle beyond the spout falls into shadow. The lid sits loosely on the opening. A thin, yellow matchstick with a dark blue head lays flat on the tablecloth just in front of the kettle and below its spout. A tornado-shaped area gouge is dug out of the elephant-gray wall behind the kettle.

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The Old Kettle

painter John Frederick Peto (American, 1854 - 1907)

c. 1890s

Medium: oil on wood
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: overall: 12.7 x 20.3 cm (5 x 8 in.) ; framed: 22.86 x 29.85 x 2.22 cm (9 x 11 3/4 x 7/8 in.)
Culture: American
Museum: National Gallery of Art, CAB
Credit line: Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Rights: Public domain (NGA Open Access, CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed

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