The Baroque Era of Art
Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Silver Ewer 1655-1660.
I’ve always had a weird fascination with still life paintings. These artists have the skill to paint the most realistic piece of art, one that is inspiring and beautiful. If I had this skill, I would want to create something like the paintings Michelangelo painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Ironically, they use this skill to paint a bowl of fruit. I don’t exactly know why, but I love that.
Still Life with a Silver Ewer is an oil painting that was painted by Willem Kalf in 1655-1660. This painting is currently in Amsterdam apart of the Rijksmuseum museum. This detailed painting shows a tipped-over bowl with some fruit spilling out the side next to a silver ewer. The orange fruit grabs your attention first, making it the focal point of this painting. If I owned this painting, I would say it would look good in the kitchen or dining room.
Still life painting’s origin is heavily influenced by the tombs of the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egyptians believed that when you died, the items buried with you would follow you to the afterlife. So people with high social status would be buried in tombs with their favorite foods, objects, etc. Because of this, I conclude that royal influence has a part in the start of still life paintings.
Though still life paintings are composed of food and objects arranged in random fashion, they share similarities to other styles of art.
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, The Marriage of the Virgin 1504.
Bibliography
Zucker, Steven and Harris, Beth. “Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Silver Ewer.” Smart History, Accessed June 26, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/kalf-ewer/
"Still Life with a Silver Jug and a Porcelain Bowl, Willem Kalf, 1655 - 1660." RijksMuseum, Accessed June 26, 2024, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-199
I wanted to write my blog on still life, but I decided against it because it doesn't have the motion I really like Baroque. Maybe it could be that my grandmother had replica still life paintings in her house? At the time I did not have any appreciation for it because I thought, "It's a bowl of fruit".
ReplyDeleteThe shadows of the piece you decided to write about are what really stand out to me. The silver jug to the left looks like it is real. The effective use of lighting effects make this painting stand out. You can make out all the dimples on the lemon zest. It does not look like a pretty lemon in some advertisement. It looks like the ones you would find in the local grocery. I tend to like it more because of its realism.
Hi Mariah!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great choice of pieces, and I particularly like how you connected the two as depictions of fleeting things (both physical objects and life itself). Still life always hits me because of the complexities in the ordinary; in some sense, I feel like artists that paint still life pieces in extreme detail gain an intimate understanding of how much complexity there is in everything, including all the fleeting things we take for granted! Thank you for sharing this awesome piece!
-Andy
Hello Mariah,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of your two pieces is the oil painting by Willem Kalf. I know the focal point is the oranges but the first thing I notice is the silver ewer. The details in this painting are incredible and it really does look as if it is a picture.
Not to say the oil painting by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino is not impressive, but I am not as big of a fan. Although, the more you look at this piece the more details you notice, the artist did a great job. I love your last sentence, and it goes greatly with these paintings. Thank you for sharing these, Mariah!