Artwork
Still Life with Ham, Covered Beaker, Tazza, Rummer and Jug on a Table
Still Life with Ham, Covered Beaker, Tazza, Rummer and Jug on a Table is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Jansz den Uyl. It is held in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Jan Jansz.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Together they convey a meditation on abundance and mortality within a domestic setting.
The painting shows a ham, a covered beaker, a tazza, a rummer and a jug arranged on a table, objects that together evoke the everyday material culture of the Dutch Golden Age. The ham functions as a symbol of domestic prosperity and the transience of pleasure, while the glass vessels reference both scientific curiosity and the fleeting nature of life. Together they convey a meditation on abundance and mortality within a domestic setting.
Technique & Style
Jan Jansz den Uyl’s Still Life with Ham, Covered Beaker, Tazza, Rummer and Jug on a Table (1640) is executed in oil paint on canvas, measuring 74 × 86 cm. The medium’s slow drying time allowed den Uyl to build up rich, translucent glazes, particularly evident in the reflective surfaces of the glass rummer and silver tazza. His handling is meticulous, with fine brushwork defining the intricate engravings on the covered beaker and the delicate folds of the ham’s rind.
Stylistically, the work aligns with Dutch still-life traditions of the mid-17th century, emphasizing tactile realism and a restrained palette. The composition’s diagonal arrangement of objects creates a dynamic interplay of light and shadow, while the precise rendering of textures, from the translucency of glass to the matte finish of bread, demonstrates den Uyl’s technical mastery.
History & Provenance
Jan Jansz den Uyl painted Still Life with Ham, Covered Beaker, Tazza, Rummer and Jug on a Table in 1640, an oil on canvas work measuring 74 by 86 centimeters. It entered a private collection before being acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where it remains in their holdings. The painting’s provenance reflects a continuous ownership chain from its creation to the present, with no recorded commissioning details.
Its creation history is documented through dated inventories and museum records, confirming its production in the mid-17th century. The work is catalogued as a still life genre piece, depicting a ham alongside various vessels including a tazza, a covered beaker, a rummer, and a jug.
Overview
Jan Jansz. den Uyl, a Dutch painter active during the Golden Age, completed this oil on canvas in 1640. The work is a banquet‑type still life, now part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s collection, and presents a carefully arranged group of everyday objects on a table covered with a green cloth.
Context
Banquet still lifes were popular in the Dutch Republic as displays of wealth and culinary culture. Den Uyl’s work aligns with contemporaries such as Willem Kalf, emphasizing luxurious table settings while maintaining a restrained, almost documentary quality.
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…
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