Lot 1051 Dα

The painter Gerrit Willemsz Heda was born in Haarlem and was the son of Willem Claesz Heda, under whom he also apprenticed. The young Heda adopted his father's style and developed it further. Alongside Pieter Claesz, Gerrit Heda's father was the originator of the so-called “monochrome banketjes”. This specific still life genre depicts meals in a reduced colour palette based on one particular tone. The genre developed from around 1620-1630 onwards, and the present example, dated 1646, is one of Heda's earliest dated works.
We see various items spread out on a table, including butter in a Chinese porcelain dish, a glass of wine, a Raeren stoneware pitcher, an upturned pewter tazza, and a slice of bread. The charm of this still life lies in its calm simplicity. The items depicted are not especially opulent, they belong more in a middle-class environment, and the artist accentuates this in his choice of colours. Despite its simplicity, the work displays a wealth of painterly detail in the precision of its outlines and the carefully placed highlights on the various materials, like the porcelain, clay, fabric, and glass. Gerrit Heda's mastery of light and colour, outline and composition are beautifully displayed in this elegant still life.