Breakfast Still Life
about 1660/69 | Cornelis de Heem
In a small format, this painting offers a wealth of fruit, shapes and colours, enriched by oysters, bread and a silver box. The pocket watch in the left foreground provides a clear accent that can probably be understood allegorically: it could be interpreted as pointing to the transitoriness of life. But combined with the depiction of food, it also has another meaning: a reference to the moderation that should be observed while eating.
In a small format, this painting offers a wealth of fruit, shapes and colours, enriched by oysters, bread and a silver box. The pocket watch in the left foreground provides a clear accent that can probably be understood allegorically: it could be interpreted as pointing to the transitoriness of life. But combined with the depiction of food, it also has another meaning: a reference to the moderation that should be observed while eating.
Artist:
Cornelis de Heem (1631 Leiden - 1695 Antwerpen) DNB
Time:
about 1660/69
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Dutch
Material/technology:
oak wood
Dimensions:
angesetzte Leisten am Gemälde: 34,8 x 42,5 x 1 cm: Overall: 33,9 cm × 41,5 cm × 1 cm
Framed: 47,3 cm × 55 cm × 4,4 cm
Signed
Inscribed at lower left: C. DE HEEM f.
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 567
Provenance
1747/1748 in the treasury