Artwork
Still life with fallen pewter jug and roemer
Still life with fallen pewter jug and roemer is a paint painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Simon Luttichuys. It dates from 1649 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Overview
Simon Luttichuys’s 1649 canvas, titled *Still life with fallen pewter jug and roemer*, presents a modest arrangement of domestic objects rendered with meticulous attention. A tipped pewter jug lies beside a peeled lemon, a glass roemer, a spoon, and a blue‑and‑white Kraak porcelain dish occupy a darkened tabletop, their forms illuminated against a subdued background.
Subject & Meaning
The composition gathers commonplace items—metal, glass, ceramic, and fruit—to explore themes of transience and material wealth. The overturned jug and cracked surface suggest fragility, while the gleaming porcelain hints at the influx of exotic trade goods in the Dutch Republic, inviting reflection on the fleeting nature of luxury.
Technique & Style
Luttichuys employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, using deep shadows to model each object’s volume. The reflective qualities of glass and metal are captured through precise highlights, while the textured surface of the porcelain is rendered with fine brushwork, creating a tactile sense of realism that typifies mid‑seventeenth‑century Dutch still‑life practice.
History & Provenance
Created in 1649, the painting entered the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, where it remains on display. Its acquisition history reflects the museum’s focus on Dutch Golden Age works, situating the piece within a broader narrative of European art collecting in the early twentieth century.
Context
The work belongs to a period when Dutch artists frequently depicted imported Asian ceramics, known as Kraak ware, as symbols of global commerce. Luttichuys’s inclusion of such items aligns with contemporary still‑life conventions that juxtaposed local produce with foreign luxuries to comment on the Netherlands’ mercantile prosperity.
Artist & collection
