Who painted Still life with a fish?

Still life with a fish was painted by Pieter Claesz in 1647.

Where can I see Still life with a fish?

Still life with a fish is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is Still life with a fish?

Still life with a fish is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Still life with a fish?

Museum-quality prints of Still life with a fish are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Still life with a fish

Pieter Claesz , 1647

Still life with a fish is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Pieter Claesz. It dates from 1647 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

Pieter Claesz's 1647 oil painting Still life with a fish depicts a solitary cooked fish placed on a plate, embodying the vanitas theme of transience and mortality through the perishable nature of food. The work belongs to the Dutch Golden Age still life genre and is housed in the Rijksmuseum collection.

Technique & Style

The painting remains in excellent condition with stable, even varnish and no significant craquelure visible in the central field.

Executed in oil on a vertically grained oak panel, the work measures 61.9 cm in height and 80.9 cm in width. Claesz rendered the scene with a restrained, monochromatic palette dominated by silvery grays and muted ochres, punctuated by the translucent sheen of the fish’s flesh and the reflective highlights of the pewter plate. His precise, linear draftsmanship underpins the composition, while delicate glazes and fine stippling model the textures of the fish scales, the woven basketry, and the reflective metal.

The light source is frontally placed, casting soft shadows and sharpening edges to heighten the illusion of tactility.

The painting remains in excellent condition with stable, even varnish and no significant craquelure visible in the central field.

History & Provenance

Pieter Claesz created Still life with a fish in 1647 as an oil painting on panel, classified within the Dutch Golden Age and the still life genre. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum's collection in Amsterdam, where it has been housed since acquiring the piece, reflecting a continuous ownership chain under the museum's stewardship. Its creation was directly tied to the artistic exploration of breakfast scenes, establishing its significance within Claesz's mature oeuvre and the broader Dutch still life tradition.

The painting Still life with a fish by Pieter Claesz is held in the Rijksmuseum collection, cataloged under inventory number SK-C-5. It was created in 1647 as an oil paint work on panel. The work has been exhibited as part of Dutch Golden Age painting presentations at the Rijksmuseum, including a 2011 exhibition of 17th-century Dutch still lifes.

The artwork measures 61.9 cm in height and 80.9 cm in width.

Overview

Created in 1647, Pieter Claesz's Still Life with a Fish exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age tradition of the ontbijt, or breakfast piece. The composition centers on a large fish, likely a herring or mackerel, resting on a pewter platter, a motif Claesz frequently employed to symbolize mortality and the transience of earthly life. Surrounding the fish are carefully rendered objects including a knife, scattered nuts, a glass of wine, a plate of bread, and a bowl of olives, all arranged on a table draped with a white cloth.

The background is typically dark and unadorned, a hallmark of Claesz's style that directs the viewer's focus entirely to the textures and materials of the foreground. The artist utilizes a monochromatic palette dominated by silvers, browns, and grays, unifying the disparate objects through subtle tonal variations. This work demonstrates Claesz's mastery in depicting reflective surfaces, particularly the pewter and glass, and his ability to imbue simple domestic items with a sense of quiet solemnity.

As a mature work from the late 1640s, it reflects the artist's refined approach to vanitas themes, where the abundance of food serves as a reminder of life's fleeting nature rather than mere culinary display.