Artwork
Still Life with a Roemer and a Watch
Still Life with a Roemer and a Watch is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Willem Claesz Heda. It dates from 1629 and is held in the collection of the Mauritshuis. Willem Claesz.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The muted palette and tilted perspective, hallmarks of Heda's monochrome "ontbijt" style, reinforce the meditation on the brevity of earthly enjoyment.
The painting presents a tabletop arrangement of modest objects rendered in the restrained vocabulary of Dutch Golden Age still life. A roemer, the tall green-tinted drinking glass associated with Rhineland wine culture, anchors the composition alongside a stemmed berkemeyer, a silver-gilt cup, and a plate bearing bread, fish, and a lemon whose peeled zest curls across the surface. A pocket watch lies among the vessels, while a knife, hazelnuts, and a draped tablecloth complete the scene against a plain wall.
Together these elements carry the standard vanitas symbolism of the genre: the watch marks the passage of time, the half-peeled lemon and broken bread evoke transience, and the overturned or extravagantly shaped glasses hint at the fragility of pleasure. The muted palette and tilted perspective, hallmarks of Heda's monochrome "ontbijt" style, reinforce the meditation on the brevity of earthly enjoyment.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1629, this still life by Willem Claesz. Heda is an oil painting on panel. The work measures 46 cm in height and 69.2 cm in width.
Stylistically, it belongs to the Dutch Golden Age movement and features a complex arrangement of domestic objects. The composition includes a roemer, a watch, various tableware, food items such as a lemon and bread roll, and household silver set upon a draped table. The artist depicts these elements against a neutral wall, emphasizing texture and the interplay of light on different surfaces like glass and metal.
History & Provenance
Still Life with a Roemer and a Watch was created by Willem Claesz Heda in 1629, executed in oil paint on panel. The work subsequently entered the collection of the Mauritshuis, where it is held and on view today. The sources do not document an earlier ownership chain, a commissioning party, or any intermediate provenance between its creation and its arrival at the Mauritshuis.
The painting Still Life with a Roemer and a Watch by Willem Claesz. Heda is held in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Created in 1629, the work is executed in oil on panel and measures 46 cm in height by 69.2 cm in width.
The provided sources do not contain a specific inventory or accession number for this piece, nor do they list any exhibition history or past display locations beyond its current residence at the Mauritshuis.
Overview
Willem Claesz. Heda, a Haarlem painter active in the early seventeenth century, completed the oil painting Still Life with a Roemer and a Watch in 1629. Executed in the restrained palette typical of his work, the composition presents a modest tabletop arrangement that includes a glass goblet, a metal cup, a whole fish, lemon wedges, nuts, a rope coil, a pocket watch and a small metal box with a ribbon. The work belongs to the Mauritshuis collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Willem Claeszoon Heda (December 14, 1593/1594 – c. 1680/1682) was a Dutch Golden Age painter from the city of Haarlem devoted exclusively to the painting of still life. He is known for his innovation of the late…
