This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery. Please follow the links below for related online resources or visit our current exhibitions schedule.

Pieter Claesz, who lived and worked in Haarlem between 1621 and 1660, was one of the most important Dutch still-life painters of the 17th century.  Claesz pioneered the development of monochrome table-top still lifes (the so-called monochrome banketjes), quietly restrained works imbued with an extraordinary sense of naturalism.  The exhibition will showcase 25 of Claesz's still lifes from all phases of his career. The paintings of mincemeat pies, breads, lemons, olives, nuts, fruits, and wine are visual feasts that delight the eye and whet the appetite. Claesz reveled in capturing the effects of light and the different textures of objects through his varied handling of paint.  He also included objects infused with symbolic implications, indicating that the viewer should reflect upon worldly transience and spiritual truths.

Sponsor: The exhibition in Washington is made possible through the generous support of Greg and Candy Fazakerley.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.