ECOLE DU XVIIIe SIÈCLE

Still life with a römer Oil on canvas. Height: 49 cm - Width: 72 cm On a table covered with a green sheet are painted a half-full römer surrounded by a pewter bowl filled with strawberries and a plate on which rests a lemon with its leaves and half a lemon cut through the middle. In the background: a wicker basket filled with cherries, a loaf of bread and a pitcher, and on the left side, one side is laid diagonally. This painting takes up all the codes of 17th century still lifes. It evokes, through the objects and fruits represented, the imprint of time on life: the römer is half-filled, one of the two lemons is cut in half and the whole one represents the bitterness of existence; the fragility with the cherries and strawberries, fruits with a very limited life span. Two objects are there to give depth to the composition: the diagonal knife and the pewter dish in the foreground coming out of the table. The term "silent life" used by the English and Germans to describe what we call "still life" is in fact only the translation of the magic of a highly symbolic painting. This allegory, which invites reflection, highlights the pleasure of the senses, but also the fragility of human existence: the life of the spirit is superior to earthly pleasures, and reminds man that it is futile to attach oneself to pleasures, power and wealth, since men are equal in the face of death.