The painting itself appears to be an oil on canvas. There are two pears in a green bowl and three pears on the table. The colors are very rich. The painting has been signed by the artist (either the real Courbet or an imposter). I have compared the signature to ones that I have seen on his paintings (on the internet). If this is a forged signature, it was done very well. The painting itself looks quite old. I purchased it in a heavy, ornate, plaster frame, however; this frame appears to have been custom made to hold (surround)the original frame, which can be removed from the back of the larger frame. The canvas is wrapped around the back of the original frame and you can see that the area of the canvas that is not painted is yellowed, and very frail. The wood of the orignal frame is also very old.
