In the final decade of his life, Pierre-Auguste Renoir turned increasingly to still-life painting, a genre he had largely set aside during his Impressionist years. Still-life with lemons and a cup, painted in 1910, stands as a testament to this late-career fascination. What makes this work particularly notable is that it was created while Renoir was battling severe rheumatoid arthritis, which left his hands permanently deformed.

Despite this, he continued to paint daily, having brushes strapped to his hands, and produced some of his most intimate and direct works during this period. On the table, three lemons rest beside a simple porcelain cup, their forms rendered with the loose, vibrant brushwork that defined Renoir’s mature style. The lemons, with their dimpled peels catching the light, seem almost to glow against the muted background, while the cup’s delicate rim and handle are described with a few swift strokes. There is no overt narrative, but the arrangement speaks of domestic quiet and the artist's delight in the ordinary.

Unlike the meticulously arranged and symbolic still lifes of Chardin, Renoir’s composition feels spontaneous, as if the objects were gathered moments before the artist began to paint, capturing a fleeting harmony of color and form. The provenance of Still-life with lemons and a cup remains somewhat obscure, as is often the case with Renoir’s late still lifes, many of which were painted for friends or sold through dealers with minimal documentation. Today, the painting is celebrated as part of the broader movement among late Impressionists to explore the possibilities of color and texture in intimate, everyday subjects. It also marks a poignant chapter in Renoir's career, when physical hardship was met with renewed creative vigor.

The work now resides in a private collection, rarely exhibited, but frequently cited in discussions of Renoir’s late style and his enduring commitment to the act of painting itself.