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Still life with a Roemer, A herring, and a bread roll on a plate with a knife, and a bowl with strawberries;
By Pieter Claesz. (Berchem 1598/99-1660)
Oil on panel
46,5 x 63,3 cm
Signed and dated lower right: "1649"
About the Artwork:
In this refined still life, Pieter Claesz. offers a masterful composition of everyday objects—rendered with astonishing naturalism and quiet elegance. A translucent Roemer glass, its surface catching the light, anchors the scene and reflects the soft play of surrounding textures. A silver plate holds a seasoned herring, delicately arranged to emphasize both freshness and form, while a second plate offers a modest bread roll and slices beside an ornate knife.
In the foreground, a porcelain bowl, tipped onto its side, spills ripe red strawberries onto a pewter dish, their vivid color subtly breaking the otherwise restrained palette. Scattered nuts and shells complete the composition. The cool tones, harmonious balance, and meticulous rendering of texture evoke both sensory delight and quiet contemplation—a hallmark of Claesz.’s mature style.
More than a simple feast for the eyes, the arrangement alludes to the transience of life and the pleasures of the senses, resonating with the vanitas tradition so prominent in 17th-century Dutch art.
About the Artist:
Pieter Claesz. was one of the most celebrated still life painters of the Dutch Golden Age. Born in Berchem near Antwerp, he joined the Guild of St. Luke in 1620 and moved shortly after to Haarlem, where he would develop his signature style. He is often mentioned alongside Willem Claeszoon Heda as a pioneer of the ontbijtjes—breakfast or banquet still lifes—featuring simple yet exquisitely rendered food and tableware.
Claesz.’s restrained, nearly monochromatic palette and masterful handling of light and reflection distinguished his work. He infused everyday objects with a sense of stillness, precision, and quiet grandeur. While his earlier works emphasized simplicity and subtlety, his later paintings, like this one from 1649, embraced a more decorative and colorful approach.
Influenced by the vanitas tradition, Claesz. often embedded deeper symbolic meaning into his compositions, inviting viewers to reflect on themes of mortality, temporality, and the fleeting pleasures of life.
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