Пиратский натюрморт

[kavery]

Я когда эту картину увидела, то почему-то сразу в голову пришло название "Пиратский натюрморт". Но насамом деле, у нее несколько иная символика.




Still Life with Flowers
Undated
22.5 x 15 cm
oil on panel

Georg Flegel shows us very clearly that this is a so-called 'vanitas' painting: one illustrating that earthly beauty and treasures are only fleeting and to rely on them is vanity.

The coins and exotic shells next to the vase are the earthly treasures we hoard. The skull on the vase emphasises that the flowers, although beautiful, will fade and die.

The beans in the foreground could have several meanings. They are thought to be castor beans, which can be extremely poisonous when not cooked properly and are thus a reminder of death. But because they can cause wind during digestion they could also be an allusion to a second life or the afterlife.

Об авторе
Georg Flegel
1566-1638

German-born Flegel followed his employer Lucas van Valckenborch to Frankfurt, a centre for art dealing and publishing. He painted fruit, table utensils and flower still lifes for Van Valckenborch's pieces, but was a respected artist in his own right. His paintings of tables set for meals and banquets and flower still lifes mean that today he is regarded as the most important early modern German still life painter.