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Wineglass and a Bowl of Fruit
Willem Kalf, 1663
Willem Kalf crowded the corner of a stone table with costly objects: a silver platter, delicate glassware, a thick rumpled carpet and a Chinese porcelain bowl holding peaches and an orange. According to the Cleveland Museum of Art, they stood for the wealth and global reach of the Dutch trading empire. They were also a way for the painter to show off his skill at different textures.
Kalf used different kinds of highlights, quick dots, lines and dabs, to suggest reflections. This gives the picture sparkling points of light that separate the objects from the dark around them.
In 1797 the German poet Goethe wrote that, if he had to choose between the golden vessels and the picture, he would choose the picture. The museum quotes him on this. The canvas is only about 60 by 50 centimetres, so the details are small.
From the museum record
| Artist | Willem Kalf |
|---|---|
| Date | 1663 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Size | Unframed: 60.3 x 50.2 cm |
| Museum | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| Credit line | Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund |
| Accession number | 1962.292 |
| Licence | Open Access (CC0) |
Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art collection record. Facts such as dates, sizes and credit lines come from that record. The write-up above was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the museum record and standard references. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
