Getting started with the collection:
Vanitas Still Life with the Spinario
Pieter Claesz (signed by artist), Pieter Claesz (signed by artist), Pieter Claesz. (signed by artist), Pieter Claesz. (signed by artist), 1628
Appearances can be deceptive – certainly in painting, which gives only an impression of reality. Here Claesz presents the study materials of an educated painter: books, drawings, armour, musical instruments and a plaster cast of the Spinario, a famous antique sculpture of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot. On the table are a paintbrush and a palette, along with bones and a skull. The message is clear: the world is mere illusion and transience (vanitas).
- Artwork typepainting
- Object numberSK-A-3930
- Dimensionssupport: height 70.5 cm x width 80.5 cm
- Physical characteristicsoil on panel