Emblematic Still Life with Flagon, Glass, Jug and Bridle

Johannes Torrentius, 1614

A pewter flagon, a wine glass, an earthenware jug, a bridle or rein, and a piece of paper with two staves and inscribed ‘what is out of measure, perishes in immeasurable evil.’ These are exhortations to moderation. You must cut wine with water, curb your appetites. This strict message contrasts sharply with the reputation of the painter, who was repeatedly accused of whoremongery and heresy.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-2813
  • Dimensionssupport: diameter 51 cm x diameter 51.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicspaint on panel

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Emblematic still life with flagon, glass, jug and bridle
    • Emblematic Still Life with Flagon, Glass, Jug and Bridle

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-2813

  • Description

    Emblematisch stilleven samengesteld uit drinkgerei: een tinnen schenkkan, een roemer met witte wijn en een rode stenen kruik met daarboven een breidel. Onder de voet van de roemer een muziekblad met een versje over de Matigheid en aan weerszijden twee pijpen.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    • signature and date, on the bit on the left (with ligated monogram): ‘JT / 1614’
    • inscription, bottom centre, on the paper: ‘ER * wat bu-ten maat be-staat, int on-maats qaat ver-ghaat*’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Johannes Torrentius

  • Dating

    1614

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    paint on panel

  • Dimensions

    support: diameter 51 cm x diameter 51.5 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1918-06

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; private collection, Lisse, 1629;{State Papers of Charles I, vol. 155, no. 75, published in Bredius 1909, pp. 8-9, ‘Of Torentius Pictures There be at friends house, lyes in Liss neer Leyden, 7 pieces. 1. On a round bred donne 1614 is his fynest piece which is a glass with wyne in it very well donne, between a tynne pott ad an errthen pott, a sett song under it and a bitt of a Brydle over it.’}…; ? taken by Torrentius to England in 1630;{Brown 1997, pp. 227, 229.}…; collection King Charles I;{Branded monogram on the reverse of the support.} ? Hampton Court, 1649, as ‘A round peece wth potts. and glasses’, £ 15, to Timothy Cruso, 22 March 1649/50;{Millar 1972, p. 191.}…; Mr Van Essen, Deventer, around mid-19th century;{Van Riemsdijk 1915, p. 249.}…; collection J.F. Sachse, Enschede, 1913; from whom purchased by the museum, 1918

Documentation

    • A. Wallert, 'A peculiar emblematic still-life painting from Johannes Torrentius', Art Matters 4 (2007), p. 54-67.
    • A. Marr, 'Temperance or Indulgence? Wine in still lifes of the Dutch Golden Age', in: The World of Wine, no. 16 (2007), p, 103 + afb.
    • Tony English, Tug of War: The Tension Concept and the Art of International Negotiation, Melbourne 2010, p. 36-40.

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