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Willem Claesz Heda , Dutch, 1594-1680

Title

A Banquet-piece

Datec.1635

MediumOil on wood panel

Dimensions

55.3 x 73.8 cm

Credit LineBequeathed, Sir Henry Page Turner Barron, 1901

Object numberNGI.514

DescriptionHeda’s painting is a banketje (banquet-piece), a type of still life depicting various foods and tableware arranged in a diagonal composition and set against a monochrome back wall. Banketjes enjoyed particular popularity in Haarlem in the 1630s. Heda’s painting includes pewter plates, a flagon, a flute glass, a Berkemeyer glass, cutlery, bread and a ham.Apart from the costly flute glass, which would have been made in Venice or copied in Holland, these are everyday objects painted with precision. The highlighting of the items by a crumpled white tablecloth, the overhanging knife to suggest depth, and the play of reflections, are typical features of Heda’s still lifes. Light sparkles across the composition, in which the textures of the ham and bread, and the carefully judged spaces, are integral to the effect.
Among the most gifted still-life painters in Holland, Heda initially painted simple table arrangements, but later added increasing richness and complexity to his works. His still lifes are related in many ways to those of his fellow townsman Pieter Claesz, but generally are more opulent in character.

March 2016

ProvenanceBequeathed, Sir Henry Page Turner Barron, 1901 Exhibition HistoryAn Tostal, Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork, 6 May - 27 May 1956

Label TextHeda’s painting is a banketje (banquet-piece), a type of still life depicting various foods and tableware, arranged in a diagonal composition, and set against a monochrome back wall. Heda’s painting includes pewter plates, a flagon, a flute glass, a Berkemeyer glass, cutlery, bread and a ham. Among the most gifted still-life painters in Holland, Heda initially painted simple table arrangements, but later added increasing richness and complexity to his works. His still lifes are related in many ways to those of his fellow townsman Pieter Claesz, but generally are more opulent in character.