Overview
The array of objects in this tabletop still life by Gerret Willemsz Heda, including an elaborate salt cellar, a pewter pitcher, a tall fluted glass, and the prominent ham, evokes the prosperity the Dutch enjoyed around the middle of the seventeenth century. The white linen tablecloth is crumpled so that various objects nestle in its folds, which allows the artist to show off his skill in depicting drapery and the sheen of linen through varied effects of light and shade. The partially consumed food and drinks and the disarray of the cloth give the impression that people have just stepped away from the table.
Gerret was the son and pupil of the great still-life master Willem Claesz Heda (1594-1680). In his choice of subject matter, style, and ability, Gerret compares sufficiently close to his father that it is not always easy to distinguish between the two. Still Life with Ham, signed and dated "HEDA 1650," initially entered the National Gallery’s collection as a work by Willem, but subtle differences in style and concept point to the talented hand of Gerret. Still Life with Ham ranks among Gerret’s finest works.
Entry
This impressive still life, signed and dated “Heda 1650” at the lower right edge of the white tablecloth, came to the National Gallery of Art in 1985 as a work by
Among the paintings that can be used as a basis for the attribution of this work to Gerret Heda is a comparable still life by him, signed and dated 1645 (see the 1995 catalog entry PDF for this comparative image). This painting, which is likewise on wood and has similar dimensions (98 x 79 cm), also depicts an upright tabletop still life situated against a plain gray background. In each instance an identical tall fluted glass provides a vertical accent to the display of food, plates, pitchers, glasses, and overturned vessels that are placed either on a dark green, fringed tablecloth or on the white linen that covers it.
Characteristic for Gerret Heda is the relative disarray of the still-life elements, despite the basic pyramidal composition. The white linen is arranged in a haphazard manner so that objects nestle down in its crumpled folds. Even the objects resting on the flat green tablecloth seem slightly askew, in part because Gerret Heda never quite managed to achieve the same mastery of perspective found in paintings by his father (see, for example,
The objects on the table do not represent a specific meal, as is quite clear when one compares this work to other examples where like elements are found in similar arrangements (see the 1995 catalog entry for this comparative image). Whereas the same fluted glass and pewter pitcher are found in the Frans Hals Museum painting, the identical mustard pot and a similar ham appear in the Pushkin Museum still life.
Given the explicit iconographic programs found in certain paintings by his father (see entry on
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.
April 24, 2014
Inscription
on the right edge of the tablecloth: .HEDA. 1650
Provenance
John S. Thacher [1904-1982], Washington, D.C.; bequest 1985 to NGA.
Exhibition History
- 1997
- Rembrandt and the Golden Age: Dutch Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, 1997, unnumbered brochure, repro.
- 2002
- Matters of Taste: Food and Drink in 17th Century Dutch Art and Life, Albany Institute of History and Art, 2002, no. 23, repro.
- 2004
- Pieter Claesz: Master of Haarlem Still Life, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem; Kunsthaus Zürich; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2004-2005, not in catalogue (shown only in Washington).
Technical Summary
The panel consists of three vertically grained oak boards.[1] All of the boards are of similar width, and the outer ones are slightly thicker. Dendrochronology gives a use date of 1646 onward.[2] Bevels appear on all sides of the reverse, which was not smoothly finished. A thin, off-white ground is visible through the brushstrokes of the tablecloth and background, giving a warm tonality, while the wood grain is prominent overall.
Paint was applied thinly and smoothly in multiple layers with great transparency, much glazing, and crisp brushwork in the fuller bodied light passages. Impasted highlights are blended wet-into-wet. A pentimento of a plate or tablecloth appears beneath the ham, a short length of fringe was begun and abandoned in the lower left of the tablecloth, and the artist changed the bottom contour of the white cloth. Discolored varnish and inpainting were removed in 2008.
[1] The wood was analyzed by Dr. Peter Klein, Universität Hamburg (see report dated May 4, 1987, in NGA conservation files).
[2] Dendrochronology by Dr. Peter Klein, Universität Hamburg (see report dated May 4, 1987, in NGA conservation files).
Bibliography
- 1986
- Sutton, Peter C. A Guide to Dutch Art in America. Grand Rapids and Kampen, 1986: 309.
- 1995
- Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 96-98, color repro. 97.
- 1997
- Chrysler Museum of Art. Rembrandt and the Golden Age: Dutch paintings from the National Gallery of Art. Exh. brochure. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk. Washington, 1997: unnumbered repro.
- 1997
- Hess, Catherine and Timothy Husband. European Glass in The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 1997: no. 50j, repro.
- 2000
- Meijer, Fred G. "Boekbespreking van...[three books related to still-life paintings, primarily from the Netherlands]." Oud Holland 114, no. 2/4 (2000): 233, fig. 7, 236 n. 37, as by Gerret Willemsz Heda and Willem Claesz Heda.
- 2000
- Meijer, Fred G. "Review of three books on still-life paintings " Oud Holland 114, no. 2/4 (2000): 233, fig. 7, repro; and 236, note 37, as by both Gerret Willemsz Heda and Willem Claesz Heda.
- 2002
- Barnes, Donna R., and Peter G. Rose. Matters of Taste: Food and drink in seventeenth-century Dutch art and life. Exh. cat. Albany Institute of History & Art. Syracuse, 2002: 74-75, no. 23, repro.
- 2003
- Gregory, Quint (Henry D. Gregory V). "Tabletop still lifes in Haarlem, c. 1610-1660: a study of the relationships between form and meaning." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park, 2003: 3-18, 172, 201.
Related Content
Related Terms
- 11
- Christian Religion
- 11R6
- vanitas still life
- 41C381
- breakfast piece
- 41C694
- ham +used symbolically
- 41C711
- wine +used symbolically
- 41C714
- beer +used symbolically
- 48A1
- patron +open market
- 48B
- artist +Pieter Claesz. + influence of
- 51H4
- abundance
- 55B2
- luxury
- 57
- morality