Still Life with Fruit, Nuts and Cheese

Showpiece

Floris Claesz van Dijck

The crumbly cheeses, the apples, the glass of wine, the hanging apple peel, the dull shine of the pewter plate – they almost seem real. Floris van Dijck (Delft 1574 - Haarlem 1651) shows that he is a master at depicting different materials.

In the 17th century Schrevelius expressed it as follows: “here is Floris van Dijck, who could lure and win over desirous women, the fowl, with his artist’s brush.” In the past, several meanings have been attributed to this still life. It is undoubtedly no coincidence that the various types of food on the painting represent the four taste types: the apples are sour, the nuts bitter, the cheeses salty and the grapes sweet. The two stacked cheeses also bring to mind an old Dutch saying: dairy on dairy is the devil’s work. Two layers of dairy products, usually butter and cheese, was perceived as being overly extravagant. This still life could therefore be interpreted as an admonition to frugality - something that particularly appealed to the Calvinistic Dutch of the time.

It is now impossible to ascertain whether the painter meant to bring across this meaning in the painting. It is possible that he merely wanted to paint a popular combination of foods. And with regard to the large eye-catching cheeses: also in the 17th century, cheese was an important Dutch export product.

Creator

• schilder: Floris Claesz van Dijck

Date of creation

1613

Object type

easel paintings (paintings by form)

Dimensions

• paneel: 49,1 x 77,4 cm

Collection

Paintings from the Frans Hals Museum

Institution

• Frans Hals Museum

Source

• OS-I-76 (schilderij), Kunstwerken uit het Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem

Copyright

for information contact: Frans Hals Museum