Artwork
Still life with fruit and a beaker on a cock's foot
Still life with fruit and a beaker on a cock's foot is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Abraham Mignon. It dates from 1669 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created in 1669, this oil painting presents a tabletop arrangement of fruit, a glass beaker, and a rooster’s foot.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1669, this oil painting presents a tabletop arrangement of fruit, a glass beaker, and a rooster’s foot. The composition rests on a white linen drape against a deep, muted backdrop, allowing the vivid hues of grapes, peaches and pears to stand out. The work exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age’s attention to material richness and careful observation.
Subject & Meaning
The still‑life gathers seasonal produce—clusters of grapes, ripe peaches, and pears—alongside a glass vessel, while a rooster’s foot protrudes into the foreground. Such objects often alluded to abundance, the transience of pleasure, and the fleeting nature of earthly delights, themes common in 17th‑century Netherlandish genre painting.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on canvas, the artist employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, using a dark ground to intensify the luminosity of the fruit’s skin and the glass’s transparency. Fine brushwork renders the texture of the fruit’s flesh and the sheen of the beaker, while the white cloth provides a subtle reflective surface that unifies the scene.
History & Provenance
The piece was painted by Abraham Mignon, a Utrecht‑based still‑life specialist whose work shows the influence of Jan Davidszoon de Heem and Jacob Marrel. It entered the Rijksmuseum’s collection, where it remains on view, representing the artist’s mature period and the broader flourishing of Dutch still‑life painting in the late seventeenth century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Abraham Mignon or Minjon (21 June 1640 – 27 March 1679) was a Dutch still life painter.
