This still life shows a table in disarray. The Dutch called a composition with bread, fish, and drinking vessels a “breakfast” still life. Here the humble breakfast piece has been given a grand treatment: the fish are oysters, the vessels are silver, and the lemon – rare in northern Europe at the time – attests to the wealth of Holland in the seventeenth century. But the jumble of the table, as if the meal has been abandoned in a hurry, may suggest a symbolic meaning that the enjoyments of life are interrupted, perhaps by death, or put aside for higher ideals.
This still life combines realism and drama that is typical of much seventeenth-century art. The artist carefully observes the many surfaces and textures - rough lemon peel, smooth glass, engraved silver, and subtle shadows in the folds of the cloth. In the goblet at left, Heda even shows the reflection of a paned window.
The shaft of light against the plain background creates a dramatic mood. The overturned blue-and-white bowl and silver goblet suggest precarious balance. However, Heda stabilized the objects within a triangular composition with the tabletop at the base, and the rim of the tall, thick glass at the apex. The subdued color scheme of grays, browns, and creamy whites is punctuated by the red ham, blue bowl, and yellow lemon.
Canvas was stretched over a wooden frame, then sealed with gesso, a gypsum and glue paste, to provide a smooth surface for this painting. To make oil paint, the artist mixed pigments with pressed linseed oil from the flax plant.
Because oil paint dries slowly, Heda could blend adjacent areas of color to create subtle gradations that capture the effects of light on a range of textures. For example, in the goblet at left, the thick paint of the highlights contrasts with the thin, evenly blended paint that depicts the clear, smooth glass surface.
Willem Heda was a painter active in the Dutch city of Haarlem in the middle of the seventeenth century. Little is known of his early life and artistic training. Heda specialized in still-life painting and is best known for banquet pieces, such as this, which show a table after a meal.
In the seventeenth century, Holland was the most prosperous nation in Europe, due
to its far-flung trading interests. Dutch citizens were great art patrons, and artists produced a wealth of images of the countryside, people, and the Dutch way of life.
Although still life paintings existed in the ancient world, the rise of still life painting in Europe in the 16th and 17th century grew out of traditions in Christian art. Fruit, flowers, and other objects that served as attributes of holy figures or Christian symbols, became the subject of independent paintings in the late 16th century. The Dutch invented the term “still life” in the 17th century to describe paintings of food, flowers, and dead game. In the Netherlands, artists specialized in specific kinds of still life painting, such as flower pieces, luxury still lifes, banquet scenes, the more humble breakfast still lifes, and more. While Dutch still life paintings often celebrate the country’s wealth and world-wide trade, these paintings often also convey a moralizing message. The rich food, drink, and vessels in Banquet Piece with Ham alludes to the ephemeral pleasures of the feast, as opposed to the lasting importance of spiritual values.
Curators are always researching the museum’s collection. In the process, titles of works of art can change. This work used to be called Still Life and is now titled Banquet Piece with Ham.
