Artwork
Still life with fruit and a beaker on a cock's foot
Still life with fruit and a beaker on a cock's foot is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Abraham Mignon. It dates from 1669 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created in 1669, this oil painting presents a tabletop arrangement of fruit, a glass beaker, and a rooster’s foot.
About this work
Technique & Style
The handling emphasizes precise modeling of form through subtle chiaroscuro, with smooth transitions between light and shadow to convey volume and texture.
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a standard medium for Dutch still-life practice in the late seventeenth century. The composition is arranged on a diagonal axis, with a cock’s-foot base supporting a glass beaker and a basket of fruit that includes grapes and peaches, rendered with careful attention to reflective surfaces and translucent highlights.
The handling emphasizes precise modeling of form through subtle chiaroscuro, with smooth transitions between light and shadow to convey volume and texture. The still life’s formal qualities foreground realism and illusionistic detail, aligning with the pronkstillevens tradition of displaying opulence and natural abundance.
History & Provenance
Abraham Mignon created the oil-on-canvas painting Still life with fruit and a beaker on a cock's foot in 1669. The work measures 77 cm in height and 62 cm in width. Historical records indicate that the painting was once owned by Leendert Dupper.
It is currently associated with the collections of the Rijksmuseum and Museum Gouda, with the Rijksmuseum cited as its primary location.
Overview
Created in 1669, this oil painting presents a tabletop arrangement of fruit, a glass beaker, and a rooster’s foot. The composition rests on a white linen drape against a deep, muted backdrop, allowing the vivid hues of grapes, peaches and pears to stand out. The work exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age’s attention to material richness and careful observation.
Subject & Meaning
The still‑life gathers seasonal produce, clusters of grapes, ripe peaches, and pears, alongside a glass vessel, while a rooster’s foot protrudes into the foreground. Such objects often alluded to abundance, the transience of pleasure, and the fleeting nature of earthly delights, themes common in 17th‑century Netherlandish genre painting.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Abraham Mignon or Minjon (21 June 1640 – 27 March 1679) was a Dutch still life painter.
