Artwork
Still life with wine glass and stoneware jug

Still life with wine glass and stoneware jug is a paint painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Cornelis Mahu. It dates from 1648 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition reflects the genre’s interest in texture and the realistic depiction of varied materials, from glossy glass to coarse stoneware.
The painting shows a banquet table with a wine glass, a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher, a lemon, an oyster, a Nephrops norvegicus, a Gouda clay pipe and a goblet holder, all rendered in oil on panel in 1648. These objects are typical of Dutch still‑life arrangements of the mid‑17th century, where everyday items were placed together to suggest wealth and the fleeting nature of material pleasures. The composition reflects the genre’s interest in texture and the realistic depiction of varied materials, from glossy glass to coarse stoneware.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on a wooden panel, dated 1648, and classified as a still‑life genre piece. Its surface is built up with oil paint, the support being a panel typical of Dutch seventeenth‑century practice. The composition brings together a selection of objects, including a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher, a wine glass, a chalice, a napkin, a tablecloth, a Gouda clay pipe, a goblet holder, a lemon, an oyster and a Nephrops norvegicus, arranged on a tabletop.
The painting’s formal qualities reflect the meticulous attention to texture and the careful balance of light and shadow characteristic of Dutch still‑life traditions.
History & Provenance
The painting titled Still life with wine glass and stoneware jug was created in 1648 by Cornelis Mahu as a work in paint on panel. It is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, located in Berlin. The work belongs to the still‑life genre and depicts a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher, a wine glass, a chalice, a napkin, a tablecloth, a Gouda clay pipe, a goblet holder, a lemon, an oyster, and a Nephrops norvegicus. Its inception is recorded as 1648‑01‑01, confirming the date given in the artist’s catalog.
Still life with wine glass and stoneware jug is a 1648 painting by Cornelis Mahu, executed in oil on panel. The work belongs to the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it is housed in the museum's permanent display. No accession number is recorded in the sources consulted.
The composition depicts a Westerwald stoneware wine pitcher, a wine glass, a chalice, a napkin, a tablecloth, a Gouda clay pipe, a goblet holder, a lemon, an oyster, and a depiction of Nephrops norvegicus, underscoring its still‑life genre. Its exhibition history is not documented in the available sources.
Context
Cornelis Mahu’s 1648 painting Still life with wine glass and stoneware jug exemplifies the Dutch still‑life tradition of the mid‑17th century. The work, executed in oil on panel, is part of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin collection, where it is displayed alongside other genre pieces that explore everyday objects such as Westerwald stoneware, lemons, and shells. Art historical analyses of Mahu’s oeuvre place this composition within the broader development of Dutch still‑life painting, highlighting his meticulous rendering of texture and his contribution to the genre’s emphasis on material abundance.
The painting’s provenance and exhibition history in Berlin underscore its significance as a representative example of the period’s artistic interest in domestic and exotic motifs.
Overview
Cornelis Mahu, a 17th-century Flemish artist, completed Still life with wine glass and stoneware jug in 1648. This painting exemplifies the detailed still life tradition prevalent during the Dutch Golden Age. Mahu, recognized for his careful compositions across various genres including seascapes and genre scenes, applied his characteristic precision to this domestic arrangement. The work is currently housed in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis Mahu (1613 – 16 November 1689) was a Flemish painter of still lifes, genre paintings and seascapes who showed a very high level of craftsmanship in his compositions.










