Still Life
Willem Kalf, Still Life, 1653/1679, oil on wood panel, Gift of the Society of Friends of the Portland Art Association, public domain, 27.1
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Still Life
- Artist
- Date
1653/1679
- Medium
oil on wood panel
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
20 in x 16 1/4 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
signatre: W. Kalf, lower left
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
Dutch
- Credit Line
Gift of the Society of Friends of the Portland Art Association
- Accession Number
27.1
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
In 1639, Willem Kalf left Rotterdam to join the thriving community of Dutch artists working in Paris. Kalf remained in France until 1646, preoccupied mainly with paintings of humble farmhouse interiors and focusing on still-life elements. During this time, he began also to develop independent still life subjects of the type known as pronk, the Dutch term for ostentation.
Concentrating on compositions juxtaposing fruit and other foods with costly vessels of glass, metal, and porcelain, Kalf became one of the most respected artists in Amsterdam, where he settled in 1653. In his characteristically tight close-ups, objects are crowded together and glimmer in the darkness of the setting. Reflections define the presence of elegant drinking glasses in the shadowy composition, as Kalf uses his favorite device—a long curl of lemon peel trailing out of the tipped Ming blue-and-white bowl to define the foreground and hold the viewer's eye.
