Artwork
Vanitas Still Life
Vanitas Still Life is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist B. Schaak. It dates from 1694 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The skull and candle underscore the inevitability of death, while the hourglass and book suggest the passage of time and the limits of knowledge.
The work titled Vanitas Still Life, painted by B. Schaak in 1687, presents a curated arrangement of emblematic objects that embody the vanitas theme. According to the sources, the composition includes a human skull, a table, a maxilla, a lantern, a candle, an hourglass, a book, drapery and a human tooth, each referencing transience, mortality, and the fleeting nature of earthly pursuits. The skull and candle underscore the inevitability of death, while the hourglass and book suggest the passage of time and the limits of knowledge.
By assembling these symbols within a modest interior, the painting invites contemplation on the impermanence of material existence and the moral imperative to live purposefully.
Technique & Style
The painting is an oil work on canvas, employing the conventional Dutch vanitas technique of arranging symbolic objects to convey transience. According to the catalog entry, the artist B. Schaak used oil paint applied directly to a stretched canvas, a medium that allows fine detail and subtle tonal modeling. The composition features a human skull, a table, a maxilla, a lantern, a candle, an hourglass, a book, drapery, and a human tooth, all rendered with precise brushwork that emphasizes texture and chiaroscuro.
The work’s condition is noted as intact within the Rijksmuseum collection, preserving the original handling characteristics of 17th‑century Dutch still‑life painting.
History & Provenance
Created in 1687, this oil-on-canvas vanitas still life is attributed to the artist B. Schaak. The work measures 47 by 40.5 centimeters and features symbolic imagery including a human skull, hourglass, and extinguished candle. Historical records indicate that the painting was once owned by Cornelis François Roos.
Currently, the artwork is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains preserved as a representative example of late seventeenth-century Dutch still-life painting.
Vanitas Still Life by B. Schaak is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, as recorded in its cataloguing data. The work is associated with a prior owner, Cornelis François Roos, indicating an earlier provenance before its entry into the museum's holdings. Painted in 1687 in oil on canvas, the painting's institutional location and former ownership are documented, though no specific accession number, acquisition date, or exhibition history is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Vanitas Still Life is an oil painting created by B. Schaak in 1694. This work exemplifies the vanitas genre, a type of still life that incorporates symbolic objects to reflect on the transient nature of life and the inevitability of death. The composition features a collection of carefully arranged items, including a human skull, an open book, and an hourglass. It is currently housed in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
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Artist & collection
Artist
This Dutch painter filled still lifes with symbols of mortality: skulls, hourglasses, snuffed candles.
