Skip to main content

Jan Davidsz de Heem, 'Still Life with Books and a Violin', 1628

 


Even today the genre of still life is considered to be of lesser status and de Heem is one of many practitioners who disappears behind history painters or portraitists, because of the works he created. Yet he was a key painter of the Dutch Golden Age and gained valuable commissions beyond Utrecht, where he was born. According to Sam Segal, his portrait of William III of England, for instance, was sold for 2000 guilders which was among the highest price ever paid for a seventeenth century Dutch work of art. In this painting for royalty, de Heem combined the genres of portrait and still life to create an original, successful artwork steeped in symbolism and befitting of a monarchical representation. The works he produced later in life from the 1650s onward then extended his reputation, where he depicted a variety of flora, fauna, fruits and utensils against minimalist backgrounds to reflect the market trends of his day.

Broadly speaking, de Heem’s works can be divided into two categories. Firstly, his Pronkstilleven are most well-known and what truly fed the market. Meaning ‘ostentatious’ or ‘show off’, these were sumptuous still lifes with an array of objects depicted. So many Dutch artists were producing these works in the seventeenth century, from Willem Claeszoon Heda to Maria Sibylla Merian. Not only imbued with broader social and political themes to convey the magnitude of the Dutch Golden Age and highlight the growth of trade and the economy, the Pronkstilleven appealed to the individual viewer on a personal level. As Miya Tokumitsu describes, they were ‘mesmerising fantasies of affluence’ and encouraged a viewer to strive for wealth and achievement. However, when looking at the work in question, Still Life with Books and a Violin, de Heem does not convey richness or decadence. Instead, quite the opposite notions are suggested in this second category of artworks, conveying human frailty and mortality. This was not just an early preoccupation for de Heem, but throughout his life he returned to these darker subjects, including his Still life with Books, a Globe, a Skull, a Violin and a Fan in 1650.

With its overwhelmingly brown palette and shaft of light providing a brief hint of illumination, this still life is unusual. There are no sudden punches of colour, no bright tulips or sumptuous roses, no curious insects and therefore no signs of life. Perhaps the books and violin that make up the painting may have been used frequently in some distant past, but now lie discarded in front of the viewer, bending, cracking and curling up as time presses on. The shaft of lighting looks ominous and tomb-like, a gap gradually diminishing like a pair of eyes slowly closing up. There are no sounds, no music that comes from the neglected violin which is turned away from the viewer, so that even if it was played, its sound would ricochet off a bare wall to create further dissonance. Most of the books are closed up on the bare table, producing a barrier between the viewer and the written word, and by extension the painted scene. The piece of paper that drops slowly off the table is the only moment of movement, precariously balancing on the edge, again in a reference to the momentary and fleeting nature of human life. Most importantly, this piece of paper contains the only readable word in the canvas, epitomising the whole scene: finis. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John Everett Millais, 'Peace Concluded', 1856

  My eye is drawn to the copy of The Times clutched in the hands of the officer. The white of the figurine on the man's knee and the white of his wife's sleeves all serve to make the white paper stand out even more on the canvas. As the title of the painting suggests, this is about the end of the Crimean War, seemingly depicting a soldier who has just returned home, surrounded by his family, but the mood is perhaps less euphoric than you might expect. The soldier seems somber and weary, and his wife has a look of concern. Although on the surface it seems to be quite a harmonious composition representing a close knit and traditional family, the positioning of the man is odd. It is his wife who takes her place at the apex of the triangular composition, the soldier is reduced to an emasculated role, perhaps an invalid, as suggested by the blanket over his legs. Her face is passive, but not exactly positive. With her arms draped around her husband, she looks posed, dutiful but not...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ernst Barlach, 'The Avenger', 1914

  On the advent of both the First World War and the artistic movement known as Futurism, Ersnt Barlach cast this work in bronze. The eye picks out an angular, horizontal form, a sense of hurried pace and strong facial features to this work by the German Expressionist artist. This piece is highly interesting when discussed in terms of the artist's oeuvre - Barlach entered the First World War with a clear attitude of patriotism. The sculpture reflects that, as the figure seemingly thrusts forward wielding a sizeable weapon above his head, leading the charge head on. Describing the sculpture as his 'raging Barbarian' it is clear that Barlach wanted to present an emotionally charged figure. Perhaps it is even a self portrait, with Barlach picturing himself as the hero. The artist did in fact serve briefly as an infantry officer. However realisation soon dawned and patriotism quickly dwindled. All of Barlach's sculptures from this point onward are influenced by the horror an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mark Rothko, 'Light Red over Black', 1957

  My eye is not drawn to the painting itself but the title of the painting, 'Light Red Over Black'. We would automatically think that the black is on top of a red background, but Rothko has flipped this around, subverting the title just like he subverting the meaning of what it was to be an artist and what Art actually was. During this time, art was going through rapid changes, with abstract expressionism coming into full force (Rothko, Pollock). But Rothko showed that all this change was for the good, even if for him, it was short lived.  The colour red in this painting is searing and the black struggles to fully cover this velvety border, especially at the bottom of the canvas. Unlike the black squares which have a hazy quality to their edges, the red is clear and impregnable. It is hard to figure out what this represents - the Tate has suggested a window perhaps, but if it is a window then what are we looking out into? Perhaps it is night, or perhaps the viewer is catching ...
Post a Comment
Read more