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Still Life with Wine, Fruit and Oysters
  • Still Life with Wine, Fruit and Oysters

    TitleStill Life with Wine, Fruit and Oysters
  • Technique/ MaterialOil on oak
  • DimensionsDimensions: (h x b) 37,7 x 47,4 cm
    Frame: (h x b x dj) 56 x 66 x 7 cm
  • Artist/Maker Artist: Jan Davidsz. de Heem, Dutch, born between 1606-04-15 and 1606-04-25, dead between 1683-10-14 and 1684-04-26
  • CategoryPaintings, Paintings
  • Inventory No.NM 453
  • AcquisitionTransferred 1865 Kongl. Museum
  • Description
    Literature
    Artist/Maker
    Images and media

    Sumptuous still lifes were popular in the seventeenth century. Many were painted in Holland, but were subsequently spread to other countries. Just as in this arrangement, European elements were often mixed with exotic components. Here we see blackberries, raspberries, grapes, ears of wheat, acorns, hazelnuts, a pomegranate, and oysters. The exotic parts—an orange, a lemon, and a Chinese bowl—witness of the era’s contact with distant lands. We also catch a glimpse of a snail and a butterfly—motifs that are sometimes interpreted as symbols of death and decay.