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Willem Claesz. Heda, 'Still Life with a Lobster', 1650-9

About the work

Overview

Although apparently casually displayed, the objects in this still life would immediately have suggested wealth and extravagance to a seventeenth-century viewer. The cloths have a satin-like sheen, and the objects on them are all expensive luxuries. They‘re carefully chosen, not just because they are rare and precious but because they proudly show how Dutch merchants brought exotic items from far-flung parts of the globe.

They also demonstrate Heda’s skills in painting textures and objects projecting out of the picture towards us in subtle, rich colours. Embroidered onto the tablecloth is a cipher that seems to refer to a merchants’ guild, perhaps implying that the painting was commissioned by such a company. The handsome red lobster with the beady eye, placed with such prominence, suggests a connection with the sea as the source of their wealth.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Still Life with a Lobster
Artist dates
1594 - 1680
Date made
1650-9
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
114 × 103 cm
Inscription summary
Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit
Presented by Frederick John Nettlefold, 1947
Inventory number
NG5787
Location
Room 23
Collection
Main Collection
Frame
18th-century French Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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