This canvas displays an ornate still life featuring, among other things, bunches of grapes, a lobster, a shaker and a berkemeier filled with white wine. The artist deployed these costly objects not only to show off his technical skills but also to endow the composition with symbolic significance. A bunch of grapes, for example, could allude both to excessive drinking and to Christ, who was referred to as the True Vine. The lobster reflects a luxurious lifestyle, but was also known as a symbol of conflict and inconstancy. Oysters were associated with carnal lust in the seventeenth century.
Specifications
- Still Life with a Berkemeier, a Peeled Lemon, Grapes and Oysters
- Cornelis De Heem (1631 - 1695)
- Oil on Canvas
- Long-term loan, Private collection