Artwork
Breakfast with Ham
Breakfast with Ham is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Simon Luttichuys. It dates from 1655 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a curated display of luxury and sustenance, specifically depicting a large ham alongside an oyster, a wine glass, and a decanter.
Created in 1655 by Simon Luttichuys, this oil painting on canvas presents a still life arrangement characteristic of the Dutch Golden Age. The composition features a curated display of luxury and sustenance, specifically depicting a large ham alongside an oyster, a wine glass, and a decanter. A perfume bottle is also included within the grouping, adding an element of personal refinement to the domestic scene.
As a work produced in the Netherlands, the assembly of these specific objects likely serves as a visual meditation on abundance and the sensory pleasures of the table. The juxtaposition of food, drink, and fragrance creates a rich iconographic statement regarding material wealth and the fleeting nature of such earthly delights, a common thematic concern in seventeenth-century Netherlandish art.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for 17th-century Dutch still lifes. Its dimensions measure 74 centimeters in height by 64.5 centimeters in width, reflecting the scale typical of mid‑century genre scenes. The brushwork demonstrates a restrained handling of light and texture, rendering the ham, decanter, oyster, wine glass, and perfume bottle with a polished surface that emphasizes material clarity and compositional balance.
History & Provenance
The painting was created in the Netherlands in 1655 by Simon Luttichuys. It depicts a still life with ham, decanter, oyster, wine glass, and perfume bottle. The work measures 74 cm in height and 64.5 cm in width and is executed in oil paint on canvas. It is currently held in the Hermitage Museum collection.
The painting resides in the Hermitage Museum, catalogued under its accession number as part of the museum's collection. It was included in the exhibition titled "Dutch and Flemish Art from the Hermitage," displayed at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg from December 15, 2017, to February 28, 2018.
Context
Simon Luttichuys' 1655 still life presents a modest Dutch breakfast featuring ham, oysters, and a half-filled glass, reflecting contemporary debates about luxury consumption. The work's composition, arranging perishable foods beside a decanter, has been interpreted as an allegory for transience and moral restraint within the Dutch Golden Age's commercial culture. Scholars emphasize its technical precision in rendering textures like oyster shells and linen, linking it to broader trends in Dutch realism while situating Luttichuys within the Utrecht school's quieter variant of genre painting.
Its presence in the Hermitage Museum since acquisition underscores its enduring significance as both a culinary snapshot and a meditation on material excess.
Overview
Simon Luttichuys’ 1655 oil painting, titled Breakfast with Ham, presents a modest morning repast rendered on a dark wooden tabletop. The composition centers on a sliced ham, a few oysters, a knife, and a glass of wine beside an ornate decanter, all set against a muted background that emphasizes the objects’ forms.
Artist & collection
