Vanitas Still Life By Pieter Claesz Analysis
George Daugherty
Visual Culture
Professor Winn
Visual Analysis Paper
Due: 2/5/17
Pieter Claesz’s Vanitas: Two Paintings in One Claesz’s Vanitas Still Life is an Oil on Panel still life depicting various objects on a table. A violin rests on top of a booklet. A wine glass is keeled over the booklet as well. Behind the booklet is a human skull. Left to the violin lies a round silver ball that casts a reflection of the painter painting this picture. In front of the round silver ball lies a snuff box. Lying right next to the snuff box is a key with a lanyard attached to it. Vanitas Still Life portrays two realities in one painting. The round silver ball reflects, like a mirror, the painter painting this still life with an open window behind him. This open window is likely the light source that is casted upon the objects in the still life. The still life objects are put together carefully and …show more content…
This may mean that reality is distorted by people to make life seem like it is all warm, when reality is much colder and harsher, which goes back to the theme of two realities. One fake and one real. But another thought emerges with the round silver ball: vanity. Perhaps the artist is warning us, the viewer, that putting a warm light or importance on objects is a waste of time and is perhaps harmful. The skull and the tipped over glassware signal that time is fleeting and using that time on treasuring objects instead of people (and leaving people like the artist in the mirror in the cold) is a waste of our short time here on Earth. The title of the painting, Vanitas Still Life, should give us a clue here. Vanitas is Latin for the word, “vanity.” Vain people tend to distort their own reality with a fake one. Hence the cold, harsh mirror that is reality in this painting. I suppose the point is that we shouldn’t lie to ourselves about our lives and what we really prioritize in our
Visual Culture
Professor Winn
Visual Analysis Paper
Due: 2/5/17
Pieter Claesz’s Vanitas: Two Paintings in One Claesz’s Vanitas Still Life is an Oil on Panel still life depicting various objects on a table. A violin rests on top of a booklet. A wine glass is keeled over the booklet as well. Behind the booklet is a human skull. Left to the violin lies a round silver ball that casts a reflection of the painter painting this picture. In front of the round silver ball lies a snuff box. Lying right next to the snuff box is a key with a lanyard attached to it. Vanitas Still Life portrays two realities in one painting. The round silver ball reflects, like a mirror, the painter painting this still life with an open window behind him. This open window is likely the light source that is casted upon the objects in the still life. The still life objects are put together carefully and …show more content…
This may mean that reality is distorted by people to make life seem like it is all warm, when reality is much colder and harsher, which goes back to the theme of two realities. One fake and one real. But another thought emerges with the round silver ball: vanity. Perhaps the artist is warning us, the viewer, that putting a warm light or importance on objects is a waste of time and is perhaps harmful. The skull and the tipped over glassware signal that time is fleeting and using that time on treasuring objects instead of people (and leaving people like the artist in the mirror in the cold) is a waste of our short time here on Earth. The title of the painting, Vanitas Still Life, should give us a clue here. Vanitas is Latin for the word, “vanity.” Vain people tend to distort their own reality with a fake one. Hence the cold, harsh mirror that is reality in this painting. I suppose the point is that we shouldn’t lie to ourselves about our lives and what we really prioritize in our