Harmen Steenwyck

Mini Biography: He was born in Delft. His brother is also a vanitas artist and they were both informally taught by their uncle. He was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age and mainly focused on still life.

Still Life – An Allegory of the Vanities of Human Life

1640

Oil on Oak

39.2 x 50.7 cm

Commentary on the work: “…[A] classical example of a Dutch vanitas painting. It is essentially a religious works in guise of a still life”.

Background information: The objects that he has chosen to paint connect to the biblical passage of Matthew 6:18-21 in regards to the vanitas message.  Each aspect of the painting has a different symbolic meaning. The skull is the symbol of death. The oil lamp and the pocket watch represent time duration of life and it passing. The shell shows wealth, birth and fertility. The books symbolize human knowledge along with the musical instruments which also show pleasure. The sword represents power and physical luxury is shown by the purple silk.  Lastly the jar shows life because without it you cannot have death.

Relation to the exhibition: I think that this fits well into the exhibition because it directly relates to death. He wanted to show all the materialistic items that people tend to care about when they are alive. People want to show off and be the best but where does all this stuff go once we are gone? That is the dismal message that he attempts to portray in his painting.