Dutch Masters From the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Exhibition themes:
Still life painting and the applied arts

Still lifes formed a highly popular specialization in seventeenth-century Dutch painting. Even within this genre, painters tended to concentrate on one particular type of still life, such as flower or fruit pieces, toebackjes (still lifes with smoking materials), the so-called banketjes (elegantly laid tables) or the pronkstillevens (sumptuous still lifes). Artists took great care to compose their still lifes in such a way that the combination of the various objects afforded them an opportunity to display their skills to the fullest. Thanks to their subtle compositions, perfect rendering of materials and ingenious lighting effects, this genre held great appeal for the general public, and still lifes were much in demand. Many of these works were so-called vanitas still lifes, which symbolized the transience of earthly pleasures by pointing out their 'vanity' in the face of the inexorable passing of time. The many silver, glass and textile objects which figure on these still lifes, exquisite examples of which are on display here, are ample proof that the applied arts and the work of the silver and goldsmiths were also practised to an equally high level of skill.