Still-life with Metal Wine-Jug, Glass Cup and Cover, Roemer, Fruits and Watch

This sumptuous still life shows a rich composition laid out on a table covered with a Persian rug and including a silver platter, a glass of white wine, some pomegranates, a knife with an onyx handle, a Delft faïence bowl containing peaches and a half-peeled lemon, a melon, a loaf of bread and an oyster. But all these items, rich and evocative, are subjected to the passage of time, indicated by the presence of an open watch. The picture was painted in the 1660s, when the Flemish style was visible in Beyeren’s work. The metal aiguières, in which the objects and the artist’s silhouette are reflected, are characteristic of Beyeren’s work during that period.