Still Life
c. 1660
Artist, Dutch, 1619 - 1693

Willem Kalf was one of the most celebrated, sought after, and successful still-life painters of the seventeenth century. With its off-center pyramidal composition, this Still Life is a quintessential example of a compositional format that Kalf used in the late 1650s and early 1660s. The artist’s favorite Chinese porcelain fruit bowl, dating from the Wan-Li dynasty, is tipped at an angle to reveal the blue-on-white decorations that play off so well against the oranges, yellows, and reds of the fruit. A craze for Chinese porcelain had developed in the Netherlands after the capture of Portuguese ships carrying a large cargo of Wan-Li porcelain in March 1603 and continued throughout the century.
With their depiction of Oriental carpets, Venetian glass, Seville oranges, agate-handled knives, and above all Chinese porcelain, Kalf’s paintings evoke the far corners of the world. Placing these exotic objects against dark, contrasting backgrounds allowed Kalf to illuminate their forms with accents of light.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 50
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 64.4 x 53.8 cm (25 3/8 x 21 3/16 in.)
framed: 83.8 x 69.9 cm (33 x 27 1/2 in.) -
Accession
1943.7.8
More About this Artwork
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Possibly Joseph Daniel Böhm [1794-1865], Vienna; possibly (his sale, Alexander Posonyi, Vienna, 4 December 1865, no. 1682).[1] (Cottier & Co., New York); sold 1889 to Mrs. Henry Osborne Havemeyer [née Louisine Waldron Elder, 1855-1929], New York; (sale, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, New York, 10 April 1930, no. 46); Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; gift 1943 to NGA.
[1] Lucius Grisebach, Willem Kalf, 1619-1693, Berlin, 1974, 258, no. 102, suggests that the Still Life might be identified as the Böhm painting auctioned in Vienna on 4 December 1865. The painting in this sale, however, was probably another composition, for it is described in the auction catalogue as having four pomegranates ("vier spanische Granatäpfel").
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1965
The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.
1998
A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 27.
Bibliography
1930
"Rush at Auction of Havemeyer Art." New York Times (11 April 1930): 23.
1943
Washington Times-Herald (18 July 1943): C-10.
Poe, Elisabeth E. "The Gift of 11 Paintings to the National Gallery of Art by Chester Dale." Washington Times-Herald, (18 July 1943): C-10.
1957
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 124.
1959
National Gallery of Art. Paintings Other Than French in the Chester Dale Collection. Washington, 1959 (reprinted 1965): 15, repro.
1960
Baird, Thomas P. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art 7. Washington, 1960: 40, color repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963: 315, repro.
1965
National Gallery of Art. Paintings Other than French in the Chester Dale Collection. Washington, 1965: 15, repro.
National Gallery of Art. Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. Washington, 1965: 71.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 63, repro.
1974
Grisebach, Lucius. Willem Kalf, 1619-1693. Berlin, 1974: 114-115, 122, 130, 258-259, no. 102, repro. 116.
1975
National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 184-185, repro.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 306, no. 404, color repro.
1985
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 213, repro.
Pelfrey, Robert H., and Mary Hall-Pelfrey. Art and Mass Media. New York, 1985: 99, no. 4.18, repro.
1986
Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Washington and Grand Rapids, 1986: 309.
1988
Grimm, Claus. Stilleben: die niederländischen und deutschen Meister. Stuttgart, 1988: 223, repro.
1991
Ydema, Onno. Carpets and Their Datings in Netherlandish Paintings, 1540-1700. Zutphen, 1991: 161, no. 455.
1993
Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney, et al. Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993: 351, no. 336, repro. [not in the exhibition].
1995
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 146-149, color repro. 147.
1996
Pelfrey, Robert H. Art and mass media. New York, 1985. Reprint, Dubuque, Iowa, 1996: 96-97, fig. 4.16.
1998
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. A Collector's Cabinet. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998: 35, 66, no. 27.
1999
Schmied, Wieland. Harenberg-Museum der Malerei: 525 Meisterwerke aus sieben Jahrhunderten. Dortmund, 1999: 362-363, repro.
Brunnenkant, Katja. "Falscher Glanz? Technologische Untersuchung des ‘W. Kalf. 1643’ signierten Prunkstillebens im Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Köln und Vergleich mit Werken aus der Pariser Periode Willem Kalfs (ca. 1619-1693)." Kunsttechnologie und Konservierung 13, no. 2 (1999): 264-273, fig. 40, 266, repro. of X-radiography.
Wikidata ID
Q20177551