PIETER CLAESZ (BERCHEM 1597⁄1598-1660/1661 HAARLEM)

Pieter Claesz was widely recognised as one of the preeminent still life artists of his generation. The Dutch art historian Abraham Bredius described his paintings as being: ‘distinguished by their beautifully luminous colours, the large amount of light, and the excellent painting, especially of metal objects; [they] are among the best still lifes of the seventeenth century’ (A. Bredius, ‘Der wahre Name des Meisters PC’, Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst, XVIII, 1883, p. 167). Dated '163[9]', this painting was executed at a transitional period in the artist's stylistic development. Where his paintings of the 1630s were marked by a sober monochrome palette, those of the 1640s displayed a baroque theatricality, influenced by the sumptuous banquet scenes of Jan de Heem’s first Antwerp period. Claesz was especially gifted when it came to capturing the glint of light on metal, as evidenced by the subtle highlights and clever reflections in the gilt cup and silver ewer in this painting; it was in these passages that his painterly bravura was most appreciable. Indeed, at the end of the decade Constantin Huygens included his name in the list of painters who would contribute to the Oranjezaal in Huis ten Bosch Palace, working under Jacob van Campen, where Huygens contracted him to paint the gold and silver objects. It is likely that the gilded covered cup used in the present composition was a studio prop, as it can be found in several other paintings from the period, such as the Tabletop still life with pie of 1637 in the Museum Briner und Kern, Winterthur. In the present picture, Claesz balanced the volume of the metal and glass elements with the colours of the fruit and foods on the table, to create a sense of harmonious luxury.