Still Life with Sweets

Description

Placed on a simple stone ledge, this bold arrangement includes a wooden box, a dark glass bottle, some walnuts, an elaborate Venetian glass, and several sweets called turrones. These delicacies are a mixture of pine nuts, honey, almonds, and hazelnuts. The picture may not represent an actual meal or snack. Rather, the artist played with contrasts and harmonies of shapes, textures, and colors. During his short career van der Hamen, whose father was from the Netherlands, worked at the Spanish royal court and created biblical pictures, history paintings, allegories, and landscapes. He is best known for his portraits and still lifes.

Provenance

Rodriguez Miramón coll., Mexico (c. 1920); (New York sale 1979); (Newhouse Galleries, New York)

Still Life with Sweets

Juan van der Hamen y Léon

1622

Accession Number

1980.6

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Framed: 83 x 122 x 7.5 cm (32 11/16 x 48 1/16 x 2 15/16 in.); Unframed: 58 x 97 cm (22 13/16 x 38 3/16 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund