Look at this picture by Willem Claesz Heda in Figure 1. Is there Christian imagery in the knife? Does the knife relate to Isaac in the story from Exodus? Yet how can we be sure? If we want to pursue the issue of what this painting represents then we need to remind ourselves of the questions we are asking..
What Do You Want to See Here?
We are challenged to decide what picture we want to see. Do we want to see a warning about impending mortality and the passing of time? Do we see a warning about the mixed sweetness and bitterness of life. It is here that Ziff can help us. There is a first set of visual attributes; the tipped glass, the crumpled cloth, the imperiled crockery and the half finished glass, these depict a specific visual aspect of vanitas.
Yet another set of visual aspects, the peeled lemon, the subdued colours, the contrasting surfaces of crustaceans, broken bread and vinegar and pepper. Can we relate the two sets of attributes. I think not because the specific visual aspect is not in common. What about choosing another set of visual attributes?
The Light of Joy
Do we see a rich celebration not only of a feast or a light meal but a riotous homage to human joy that happened just a second ago? Despite the toppled glasses and bowls, the specific visual aspect is most likely to be that of a so-called sumptuous, or luxurious still-life. Heda was a master at rendering different reflections of light. Heda's early vanitas still lifes and breakfast pieces evolved from additive compositions to monumental, monochrome breakfast and banquet pieces, executed with delicate brushwork that captures a wide range of materials and textures. This picture is Hedda at his most typical.
The Taste of Life
We can go further. In this picture of a pie,from the Gemalde Gallerie in Dresden (Figure 2) Heda excels himself in sheer sensuous depiction. Never was a pie presented so alluringly. It it is a sheer celebration of cookery, civilisation and pleasure. In Feasting on Art for the Eighth of August 2010, you can find a recipe for it. The real pie will be delicious, but only the painted pie can seduce your senses. However can we claim the picture is both a celebration and a warning? Yet see the shattered glass on the plate? See the brutal riding stick, or is it a concealed sword, with its top unsheathed??
The Shape of Life
Return to the first painting (Figure 1)One set of attributes lies in its compositional shape. Heda did not start to paint diagonal compositions until the mid-1630s: the compositions start with flat plates, continue with pieces of ham and goblets, and culminate in a zenith-like fashion with a water jug or goblet. The objects are put on a table, but the table is placed against a plain background which is strangely transparent with dull light. Heda then went back either to his triangular or his pyramid-shaped compositions. After 1640 his compositions went on to become even larger, richer, and more decorative.
A Christian Taste
We can conclude then that there are enough attributes in common for this painting to be most likely a warning because of the doom impending zenith, the empty, discarded vessels and the china poised to fall. At the same time it is a celebration in the diagonal features and the elaborate vessels. Less likely is the bitter sweet combination of tastes, as there is no specific visual aspect that enables us to distinguish a peeled lemon, or vinegar, representing its taste, or in this case Christian imagery
Sources:
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- Schama, Simon, The Embarrassment of Riches, An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age. New York, Knopf 1987
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- Segal, Sam. A Prosperous Past. Ed. William Jordan. Exh. cat. StedelijkMuseum Het Prinsenhof, Delft; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth. The Hague, 1988: 121-140.
- Van Gelder, Henrik Enno. W. C. Heda, A. van Beyeren, W. Kalf. (Paletserie) Amsterdam, n.d.[1941].
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- Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 99.
- Ziff, Paul. ‘On What A Painting Represents’ in Philosophical Turnings. London, 1966.
Duncan McGibbon - By contributing writer, Bath (UK) Institute Convenor and Wells Festival Prize-Winner, Duncan McGibbon
