Artwork
Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork
Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Jansz den Uyl. It dates from 1638 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Jan Jansz.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork is an oil painting on panel dated 1638 by Jan Jansz den Uyl, produced in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age.
Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork is an oil painting on panel dated 1638 by Jan Jansz den Uyl, produced in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. The composition depicts a richly arranged tabletop that includes a white tablecloth, an owl, a pewter plate, a pitcher, a beer glass, a rummer, a tazza, and a slice of pie, all rendered in fine detail. The work is housed in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1638, this still life is rendered in oil paint on a wooden panel. The composition features a dense arrangement of objects including a pie, various drinking vessels such as a beer glass and rummer, and metalwork items like a tazza and pewter pitcher, all resting upon a draped tablecloth. An owl is also depicted within the scene.
The work measures 130.5 cm in height and 115.5 cm in width, reflecting the large-scale format often employed for banquet pieces of this period. The artist, Jan Jansz den Uyl, utilizes the medium to capture the distinct textures of the reflective metal surfaces and the transparency of the glassware.
History & Provenance
Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork, painted by Jan Jansz den Uyl in 1638, is an oil on panel work measuring 130.5 cm × 115.5 cm. The painting entered the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where it remains on display. Its provenance traces from the artist’s studio to the museum’s acquisition, though specific sale dates or intermediate owners are not recorded in the available sources. The work is catalogued as a still‑life genre piece, depicting a tablecloth, owl, pewter objects, pitcher, beer glass, rummer, tazza and pie. Its creation date of 1638 is documented in both contemporary records and the museum’s catalogue.
Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, as recorded in the Wikidata entry for the painting. The work has been associated with that institution as its holding location, though no specific accession number is provided in the available sources. No exhibition history is documented in the supplied material; the Museo del Prado page cited as a source was no longer accessible, returning a "page not found" notice, and therefore contributes no verifiable information about the work's display history.
Overview
Jan Jansz. den Uyl's Breakfast Still Life with Glass and Metalwork, painted in 1638, exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age's focus on detailed genre scenes. This oil painting presents a meticulously arranged collection of domestic objects, characteristic of the artist's specialized still-life compositions. It is currently housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Context
Created during the Dutch Golden Age, a period of significant artistic flourishing in the Netherlands, this painting belongs to a popular genre. Still lifes, particularly those depicting domestic scenes and everyday objects, were highly sought after by a burgeoning merchant class. Den Uyl's work contributes to this rich tradition, reflecting the era's appreciation for detailed observation and material culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Jansz. den Uyl (Utrecht (?), 1595/96 – 24 November 1639) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. He very much specialized in the form of still life known as the breakfast piece, or, in the elaborate style of painters…
