Still life with ham, decanter, columbine cup and passglass on a laid table

Still life with ham, decanter, columbine cup and passglass on a laid table is an oil painting on panel created in 1638 by Willem Claesz Heda. The work measures 102.5 cm in height and 84.7 cm in width and depicts a table setting that includes a knife, decanter, passglass, chalice, ham, Akelei covered beaker, wine glass, mustard pot, bread, goblet holder and berkemeyer. It belongs to the still life genre and was painted on a laid table surface.

The painting has been part of the Hamburger Kunsthalle collection since its creation, where it remains on display.

The provenance of the painting is straightforward, moving directly from the artist’s studio to the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg, where it has been held continuously since 1638. There is no record of a commission or sale prior to its acquisition by the museum, and no subsequent owners are documented. The dating of 1638 is confirmed by both the artist’s known output and the museum’s cataloguing data, and the dimensions cited in the museum’s records match the physical work.

Willem Claesz Heda painted Still life with ham, decanter, columbine cup and passglass on a laid table in 1638, a work now housed in the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Executed in oil on panel, the composition features a richly detailed tabletop arrangement including a decanter, passglass, chalice, ham, and various vessels, reflecting the meticulous observation characteristic of Dutch Golden Age still life painting. Heda’s contribution to the genre, particularly his development of innovative tabletop arrangements and subtle chiaroscuro effects, situates this piece within his mature oeuvre and underscores its significance in the evolution of Dutch still life during the early 17th century.

Still life with ham, decanter, columbine cup and passglass on a laid table is a 1638 oil painting by Willem Claesz Heda, a Dutch Golden Age painter from Haarlem.