EDWAERT COLLIER | Vanitas Still Life with a Violin, Recorders, Music Manuscript and a Globe
Details
Edwaert Collier
BREDA 1642 - 1708 LONDON(?)
VANITAS STILL LIFE WITH A VIOLIN, RECORDERS, MUSIC MANUSCRIPT AND A GLOBE
oil on canvas
93.5 x 80.5; 36 7/8 x 31 5/8 in.
PROVENANCE
The current owner was given as a gift from the Estate of Daniel Ng Family Trust
CATALOGUE NOTE
Edwaert Collier was a Dutch painter who probably trained in Haarlem but is first documented in 1667 in Leiden. Collier came to London in 1693, leaving a plummeting still life market in Holland for a booming one in England, and stayed there until 1706. He specialised in illusionistic trompe l'œil arrangements and still lifes, using a recognisable inventory of objects, including the violin, recorders and globe found here. The composition, with the violin propped on the open book, and the sheet music draped over the edge of the table, held in place by the recorder, is typical of the artist.
The Latin inscription in the open book meaning ‘Music is a companion to joy and medicine for pains’ recurs in other Dutch 17th century musical paintings, including Johannes Vermeer’s famous Music Lesson in The Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace.
BREDA 1642 - 1708 LONDON(?)
VANITAS STILL LIFE WITH A VIOLIN, RECORDERS, MUSIC MANUSCRIPT AND A GLOBE
oil on canvas
93.5 x 80.5; 36 7/8 x 31 5/8 in.
PROVENANCE
The current owner was given as a gift from the Estate of Daniel Ng Family Trust
CATALOGUE NOTE
Edwaert Collier was a Dutch painter who probably trained in Haarlem but is first documented in 1667 in Leiden. Collier came to London in 1693, leaving a plummeting still life market in Holland for a booming one in England, and stayed there until 1706. He specialised in illusionistic trompe l'œil arrangements and still lifes, using a recognisable inventory of objects, including the violin, recorders and globe found here. The composition, with the violin propped on the open book, and the sheet music draped over the edge of the table, held in place by the recorder, is typical of the artist.
The Latin inscription in the open book meaning ‘Music is a companion to joy and medicine for pains’ recurs in other Dutch 17th century musical paintings, including Johannes Vermeer’s famous Music Lesson in The Royal Collection, Buckingham Palace.