The Story
Still Life Paintings from the Netherlands 1550–1720, (Dutch:Het Nederlandse Stilleven 1550–1720) is a 1999 art exhibition catalog published for a jointly held exhibition by the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (19 June – 9 September 1999) and Cleveland Museum of Art (31 October 1999 – 9 January 2000).
The catalog included detailed discussions of 80 paintings from various collection holders, that together give an overview of the best genres in Dutch still-life paintings, namely kitchen piece (keukenstuk), fruit still-life, (fruitstuk), floral still-life (blommetje), breakfast piece (ontbijtje), vanitas, hunting piece (jaagstuk), and show piece (pronkstilleven). The catalog was organized by type, but also loosely by time period, starting with the earliest works.
Executed in Oil on canvas, measuring 212 × 308 cm (83 1/2 × 121 1/4 in.); Framed: 251.5 × 348 × 10.2 cm (99 × 137 × 4 in.), the surface rewards close looking. Frans Snyders builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
