VISUAL POEMS IN STILL LIFE

Two impressive still life pictures created in the style of Dutch Master paintings are the subject of our silent auction.The still lifes depict “table compositions” showing vases of tulips and daffodils along with  wine in traditional glasses and small plates of fruit, sweets, and nuts. Detailed descriptions accompany each picture (COMING SOON). The still lifes, which measure about 28” x 26”, are framed in black wood in a style used by 17th century Dutch painters.

Still Life of Sweets

Here we see a composition in the typical style of a 17th century Dutch “table piece.” It invites us into someone’s home and shows a table elegantly set. We see a fine linen table cover, artfully draped, and a pewter dish of dried figs and nuts. Two glasses contain varieties of Rhine wine, probably diluted with lemon juice and honey. The open walnut shell and cookies on the table indicate that someone has been here before us and sampled the sweets. On the left, stands a local ware pitcher filled with tulips and daffodils from the owner’s garden. While some Dutch paintings contained specific moralistic implications, this composition reminds us in a general way of the transience of all material things. The flowers will fade and die; the wine will grow bitter; the sweets will dry up and become stale – a microcosm of our life.

Still Life for Afternoon Visitors

This picture, in the style of an early 17th century Dutch “table piece,” depicts an array of fruit, marzipan candies, cookies, dried fruit, nuts, and wine – all laid out for the delight of friends visiting the owner’s house. The unusual wide-open yellow tulip with red flames is a prized and costly bloom from the owner’s garden. The small wine glass sits on an elaborate base specially designed for such a purpose. Oranges were a delicacy imported by Dutch merchant ships from the Mediterranean. However, wealthy homeowners learned to construct special greenhouses for oranges and other citrus. The blue and white Chinese porcelain dish was also a luxury, imported by a wealthy and powerful Dutch ship owner. Aside from a message of hospitality, this composition reminds viewers that the delights in front of them will one day disappear, as will we all.

the artist

Coriolana Simon has won international recognition for her re-imagining of 17th century Dutch still lifes. For decades, she admired the still life paintings by Dutch artists of the “Golden Age.” Not only do they give a detailed view of Dutch culture, but they were painted in a style as realistic as photographs. Now, Coriolana creates still lifes with her camera, using the painters’ classic approaches to composition and lighting. While never copying a painting, she re-interprets the traditional themes, using only historically appropriate objects. She says: “Reconsidering the art of another culture in another era – and making it relevant for us today – is a complex idea to bring to one’s photographs. Nonetheless, I hope that my work not only reinterprets the styles but also the spirit of the 17th century Dutch – and through them, creates a reflection back onto our own culture.”