F ormerly in the collects ion of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Cantaloupe from 1962 is a delectable example of Wayne Thiebaud’s iconic still lifes. The work is an exquisite rendering of the artist’s use of color and masterful command of brushstroke. Best known for his iconic paintings of sweet still lifes of cakes, pies, and fruits, Thiebaud’s Cantaloupe constitutes the very best of his long and expansive oeuvre. In the mid-1950s, Thiebaud began painting sweet treats, which have become some of the best known images of American Pop, reinventing the traditional still life genre to reflect a new era of mass production and consumption. Thiebaud illustrates a new American iconography, through retaining a nuanced dialogue with art history while capturing the prosperity of contemporary America. The mastery of the simple background against the inviting pastel accents of the delectable fruit presents a heartwarming nostalgia, as if Thiebaud's sweets represent a t.mes less test.mes nt to a disappearing Americana.

A halved and artfully cut.mes lon sits nestled on a white plate. The fruit is bathed in a rich and inviting light that casts a shadow ever so delicately onto the surface upon which the melon rests. The melon sits alone in the composition of the painting, surrounded by a white expanse that is interrupted only by swathes of deep purple with hints of delicate pink that mimic the edge of a countertop or table. The isolation of the melon in the space emphasizes both the melon as a common object yet a fetishised object. Viewers peer down into the scene, and are able to place themselves in the moment that celebrates the melon as a subject of a simple still life that invites the viewers to a scene we’ve all been to before. While the hard, dark exterior of the melon is still visible, Thiebaud’s mastery of color and paint is on full display. Strokes of gray paint dance along the surface of the cantaloupe. Hints of green are ever so slightly visible underneath, revealing the freshness of the fruit below the tough exterior. The orange hues line the peaks and valleys of the melon slice, a perfectly matched color to the perfectly ripened fruit. Thiebaud’s exemplary use of color is unmatched.

Thibeaud presents nostalgia throughout his works. Viewers are immediately drawn to and reminded of sweet, simple moments. A great deal has been written about the possible meanings of the subjects of his tempting still-lifes, other than their purely visual delights. Thiebaud himself has indicated that the foods he returns to each hold an emotional resonance relating to the domestic Americanism of his childhood. The delicately posed bowl of fruit recalls the inner child in each of us. His style of painting is uniquely dichotomous in that his objects seem to reflect highly evocative familiarity and emotional detachment simultaneously.

A magnificent companion to Thiebaud’s best known early works based on cakes, pies, ice cream, gumball machines, and parfaits, Cantaloupe endures as a powerful tribute to the cultural consciousness of the sixties in America. Though readily remembered as a Pop Artist, Thiebaud differs from Oldenburg and Warhol in that his aim is not to critique society but rather to celebrate and remember it. Thiebaud’s work therefore functions as an honest and commemorative societal mirror based not only on personal, but more importantly, collects ive memory. As eloquently summarized by Steven Nash: “Andy Warhol remarked famously that his art was mostly ‘about liking things.’ With the things in Thiebaud’s work—the household goods, people, roadways, or mountain cliffs—we feel the empathy of the artist, but other attributes as well. Thiebaud’s are deeply reasoned paintings that still allow instinct and emotion to thrive. His object are nuggets of nostalgia, encoding fond memories from his youth but also aspects of American life meaningful to a great many of us” (Steve A. Nash, “Unbalancing Acts,” in Exh. Cat., Replica Handbags s Museum of San Francisco, Wayne Thiebaud: A Paintings Retrospective, 2000, p. 35).

Cantaloupe was included in Thiebaud’s very first show at Allan Stone Gallery in 1962. This was the show that put Thiebaud on the map and garnered national attention. The 1962 show was a completely sold out show, and famed art historian, collects or and critic James Thrall Soby purchased Cantaloupe from the historial show. Soby was a trustee and benefactor of the Museum of Modern Art, and upon his death the museum received a large number of paintings, sculptures and drawings, one of them being Thiebaud’s Cantaloupe.

With a career that spanned over seven decades, Thiebaud has developed a reputation of one of the most important contemporary figurative painters. His paintings are able to capture feelings of nostalgia, turning ordinary and everyday objects and foods into objects of quiet beauty and simple memories. His paintings of diner counters, confectionery and row-upon-row of pastries will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come. A superb example of Thiebaud’s most praised compositions of sweets and treats, Cantaloupe endures as a powerful tribute to the cultural consciousness of 1960s America and a celebration of commonplace objects and moments.

《蜜瓜》創作於1962年，曾入藏於紐約現代藝術博物館，堪為韋恩・蒂博的標誌性靜物畫中的精妙典例，讓人感到滿眼的可口香甜，展現蒂博的精緻用色和把控筆觸的嫻熟。蒂博以描繪蛋糕、餡餅、水果等甜食靜物畫而為人認識，而《蜜瓜》正集結了他在漫長創作生涯中培養出來的深厚功力。1950年代中期，蒂博開始繪畫甜點，他的圖畫後來成為美國普普文化中廣為人知的經典形象，重塑傳統靜物畫的面貌，反映現在已進入大量生產和消費的新時代。蒂博透過與藝術史進行微妙對話，並捕捉當代美國的繁榮景象，開創了呈現美國面貌的全新圖像。他以簡單的背景烘托以粉彩色調為主的香甜蜜瓜，營造暖人心扉的懷舊風情，彷彿是用各式甜點為逐漸消失的美國情懷留下不朽的見證。

剖開一半的蜜瓜靜置在白色碟子中，剖面細心切成鋸齒形，明亮誘人的光線落在蜜瓜上，在瓜身下方投射出細膩的陰影。此作中，蜜瓜單獨置於畫面正中央，周圍是大片的白色背景，只有前方似乎是檯面或桌子邊緣的深紫配淺粉色帶截斷白茫茫的背景。蜜瓜單獨置於這個空間的孤寂感，既突顯它是尋常之物的本質，又顯示它作為被崇拜對象的特性。觀眾從上方視角觀看畫面，就像與蜜瓜置身於同一空間，蜜瓜是靜物畫中的主體，邀請觀眾重溫曾經熟悉的場景。儘管瓜皮色深粗硬，但蒂博仍將掌控色彩和顏料的技巧表露無遺。灰色的筆觸在蜜瓜的表皮躍然跳動，底層隱約透出綠色，揭示粗硬外皮下新鮮的瓜肉。不同的橙調沿著蜜瓜的起伏切面鋪陳，展現瓜肉完美成熟的色澤，可見蒂博對色彩的掌控極為嫻熟，無與倫比。

蒂博的畫作處處流露眷戀舊日的情懷，觀眾總在一瞬間為之吸引，憶起甜蜜淳樸的時光。蒂博的靜物畫充滿魅力，畫中主題除了悅人眼目外，當中所包含的意涵學界也已經多有論述。蒂博本人曾表明，他反覆繪畫的食物承載著個人童年與美國本土情懷產生的情感共鳴，一碗精心擺放的水果就可以喚醒在每個人內心深處的小孩。他的獨特畫風賦予主題二元分化的特質，畫中物件既能激發讓人回想從前的熟悉感，但同時展露出將情感抽離的疏遠感。

蒂博以早年描繪蛋糕、餡餅、雪糕、口香糖販賣機、芭菲等的畫作最為人認識，《蜜瓜》是伴隨這類早年畫作出現的作品，作為向1960年代美國文化意識的崇高致意。雖然大家經常視蒂博為普普藝術家，但蒂博與克萊斯・歐登伯格和安迪・沃荷等人不同，他的創作目的不是要批判社會，而是歌頌和紀念。因此，蒂博的作品不只建基於個人情感，更重要是承載集體回憶，成為具紀念性質、誠實映照社會日常的鏡子。正如策展人兼學者史蒂文・納什的精闢總結所言：「安迪・沃荷曾說他的藝術是『關於相像的事物。』但蒂博所繪的東西，都是家居用品、人、車行道、山崖等，我們感受到蒂博對它們的共鳴，但它們也體現出其他特質。蒂博的畫作是經過深思熟慮的，卻也容許直觀意念和情感滋生，他繪畫的物件是凝聚了舊日風情的創作結晶，編入了他年輕時創造的美好回憶，亦載滿了對我們大多數人都意義深遠的各個美國生活面向。」（史蒂文・A・納什，〈失衡之作〉，載《韋恩・蒂博：繪畫回顧展》，舊金山藝術博物館展覽圖錄，2000年，頁35）

1962年蒂博在艾倫・斯通畫廊舉行人生中首場個展，《蜜瓜》也是展出作品之一，蒂博也因為這場展覽而聲名大噪，引起國內關注。他在這場個展展出的作品悉數售出，著名藝術史家、藏家兼藝評家詹姆斯・思羅爾・索比也在展覽中購藏了《蜜瓜》。索比是紐約現代藝術博物館的信託人和贊助人，他身故後，許多所收藏的繪畫、雕塑和素描都捐予博物館，蒂博創作的《蜜瓜》也是其中一幅捐贈畫作。

蒂博的藝術生涯跨越七十多年，他早已在當代藝壇上最重要的具象畫家中佔一席位。他的畫作捕捉到舊日情懷，將平凡的生活物品和食物轉化成蘊含靜謐之美和淳樸回憶的載體。他筆下的餐廳櫃檯、糖果店和一層層的可口糕餅，必受世世代代的觀眾青睞和銘記。蒂博以甜食為主題的作品最受追捧，作為當中的絕佳典例，《蜜瓜》是向1960年代美國文化意識的崇高致意，也是一場對尋常物件和日常瞬間的禮讚。