Still Life with Cheese

Food is arranged here on a costly damask tablecloth: fruit, bread, cheese. In the 17th century, this kind of painting was known as a ‘breakfast’. Vivid colours contrast with each other. Each item is carefully placed. And by viewing the table from a high angle, Van Dijck ensured that no object was obscured. This increases the sense of recession in the painting.

c. 1615

Oil on panel

82.2 x 111.2cm

SK-A-4821

Image and text courtesy of Rijksmuseum, 2019