Home ⇒ 🎨Kalf Willem ⇒ Dessert by Willem Kalf


Dessert by Willem Kalf

Dessert by Willem Kalf

The Hermitage painting “Dessert” is one of the best examples of such paintings. Kalf, who has an impeccable taste, avoids pomposity. The richness of his still lifes is first of all the richness of the play of light and shade and the color that flames from within.

In the hot burning of paints, objects seem to grow out of the dark background of the picture. A bright ray of light tears out of the half-darkness a bowl of fruit, a peach on a silver tray and a crumpled white tablecloth. The glass and silver goblets still reflect the light, and the thin glass flute filled with wine almost merges with the background.

Kalf had no equal in the skill of translating the material qualities of a thing into the poetic language of art, in the ability to see the picturesque side of an object. Undoubtedly, a juicy fruit with its abundance of shades of orange and golden was closer to the heart of the artist than the silver dish on which it lies, and a crumpled white tablecloth, written with unsurpassed skill, amazes the viewer no less than the luxurious oriental carpet under it.

Before the arrival in 1915 of the Hermitage, the picture “Desert” was part of the collection of the famous Russian geographer and traveler P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky – a great connoisseur and lover of Dutch and Flemish art. Willem Kalf, whose life and work was held in Amsterdam, is one of the largest masters of the Dutch classical still-life, and the picture from the Hermitage collection is a recognized masterpiece of the painter.

The still life of Kalfa belongs to the category of “breakfasts”, which included pictures of one single dish, fruit, among which there was an indispensable lemon with cut skin, vessels with wine. The artist skillfully transmits the texture of each object: a glass, a faience painted dish, a gilded goblet, an oriental carpet, a snow-white napkin.

In the picture there is a strong impact, which had on Kalfa painting Rembrandt: the objects are shown against a dark background, the bright light seems to revive them, balancing the warmth of the golden rays. Motifs and colorful splendor still life, like the Calf, appealed to the tastes of the wealthy Dutch bourgeois, their craving for luxury.

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

Related Paintings:

  1. Still life with a drinking horn by lobster and glasses – Willem Kalf Willem Kalf was one of the leading masters of the still life in Holland of the XVII century. In his mature works, the artist created a type of harmoniously grouped...

  2. Dessert – Willem Kalf La toile Hermitage “Dessert” est l’un des meilleurs exemples de telles peintures. Kalf avec un goût impeccable évite la pomposité. La richesse de ses natures mortes est avant tout la...

  3. Still life with a cup of pearl shell by Willem Calf Willem Calf is one of the masters of the Dutch still life of the 17th century. He was a highly educated person, according to the testimony of contemporaries, was engaged...

  4. Still life with a tin mug by Willem Klas Kheda The largest master of the Dutch still life of the early period was Willem Head, who worked in Haarlem. His favorite motif, repeated in many works, is a so-called breakfast,...

  5. Still life with a golden cup by Willem Klas Kheda Willem Klas Heada worked in Haarlem. His career as a painter, he began with paintings on religious subjects and portraits. Later, the artist began to paint only still lifes. They...

  6. Postre – Willem Kalf El lienzo del Hermitage “Postre” es uno de los mejores ejemplos de este tipo de pinturas. Kalf con un gusto impecable, evita pomposo. La riqueza de sus naturalezas muertas es...

  7. Dessert by Jan David de Hem Jan David de Hem is well known as a master of Dutch still life. His works were used during the life of the master by popularity, and after his death...

  8. Still Life by Christopher Paudiss Christopher Paudiss worked in Germany in the middle of the 17th century, in an era of deep economic, political and cultural crisis the country was experiencing, and was one of...

  9. Nature morte avec corne à boire – Homard et verres – Willem Kalf Willem Kalf était l’un des principaux maîtres de la nature morte aux Pays-Bas au XVIIe siècle. Dans ses œuvres matures, l’artiste a créé un type de nature morte harmonieusement regroupée...

  10. Still Life by Konstantin Makovsky Konstantin Makovsky over the years has developed his own recognizable style despite the fact that he worked in different genres. The peculiarity of his painting “Still Life” is precisely in...

  11. Bodegón con Cuerno de Beber – Langosta y Gafas – Willem Kalf Willem Calf fue uno de los principales maestros de la naturaleza muerta en el siglo XVII en Holanda. En sus obras maduras, el artista creó un tipo de naturaleza muerta...

  12. Kuharka by Joachim Eteval Painting by the Dutch artist Joachim Eytewal “The Cook”. The size of the picture is 103 x 72 cm, canvas, oil. In the first half of the 17th century in...

  13. Still Life with a Pretzel by Luis Melendez Still life was written in the mature period of the artist. At this time in his compositions appear luxury items, silverware. But, nevertheless, the artist still adheres to his ideals...

  14. Basket with strawberries by Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin Many of Chardin’s still lifes are made up of items of household utensils. At the beginning of the creative path, the artist preferred simple clay and glass vessels, but over...

  15. Still life with a decanter and lemons on a plate by Vincent Van Gogh In Paris, Van Gogh wrote a lot of still lifes. The artist incessantly portrayed flowers, fruits, books and other objects. In doing so, he experimented with the color effects that...

  16. The Battle of Texel by Willem van de Velde Texel Island, which since 1415 was already considered a big city in the Netherlands, is famous for its naval battle of the Dutch fleet with Anglo-French ships. This battle took...

  17. Breakfast with crab by Bill-Klas Kheda Extremely widespread in the Dutch art of the XVII century received a still life. The masters of Dutch realism felt a special inclination to depict the “life” of things. Throughout...

  18. Nature morte avec la tasse de coquille de perle – Willem Calf Willem Kalf – l’un des maîtres de la nature morte hollandaise du XVIIe siècle. Il était un homme très instruit, selon des contemporains, engagé dans l’examen et la vente des...

  19. Red hat and fruit by Paul Gauguin Still life in the work of Paul Gauguin is of special interest for art historians. Since the artist did not often work in this genre, each of his still life...

  20. Still life with apples by Vincent Van Gogh In Paris, Van Gogh creates a series of still lifes with fruit, when writing which he perfected his vision of color and tried to convey it as completely and cleanly...