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by Editor Lourens Durand
The 17th Century marked the Golden Age in Dutch history, after an 80-year war to gain independence from Spain. Amongst many other notable events, painting flourished in the Golden Age – over 5 million paintings were produced in the Netherlands between1600 and 1700 AD. This explosion in the arts was no doubt fuelled by the fact that the new Dutch nobility had discovered that owning paintings was a symbol of power and wealth, and they sought to collect as many paintings as they could to bolster their image.
Dutch artists moved away from portrayal of religious scenes, that had traditionally been hung in churches and monasteries, towards a more realistic still life style that showed off their skill in depicting textures and surfaces in minute detail and with realistic lighting. At this time, the Dutch were known as being excessive feasters with no sense of moderation, and it is no surprise that their still life paintings of food became popular.
Initially, the artworks reflected the gluttony and excesses of the time, with the portrayal of an abundance of food, some of it spilling out of the corners of the frame. Later they became more modest, with dark backgrounds, muted colours and a dominance of brown colours – a feature shared in the works of many fine 1X photographers.
The food-orientated painting tradition in the Netherlands begun by Ambrosius Bosschaert and advanced by Willem Claeszoon Hela of Haarlem, known for his innovation of the breakfast table genre, still a theme in modern photography.
He showed skill and taste in the arrangement and colouring of the objects in his paintings, and later developed a wider palette, away from the dominant browns, which brought more colourful fruits into his work.
The fine work of Hela and other Dutch masters is kept alive by photographic works of modern-day artists of the 1X community.
 | Write |
 | Margareth Perfoncio PRO Thanks a lot Lourens and Yvette! I am very honored! Congratulations to all photographers Still life. |
 | Monique van Velzen Thank you Lourens Durand and Yvette Depaepe for the wonderful article on classic still life. I feel very honored that one of my photos was used in this article!
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 | Lourens Durand CREW Thank you all. |
 | UstinaGreen PRO I am very grateful for this appreciation that my work is mentioned in the article.... It is an honor to be present with my work in this selection. Many thanks to Editor Lourens for fine Article and dear Yvette for kind Attention!!! |
 | Monique Lague Magnificient.
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 | Martina Stutz Very nice classic still lifes, all very effectively lighted, finely arranged and presented. Congratulations to all photographers for their beautiful images and many thanks to Lourens and Yvette for the fine article. |
 | Miro Susta CREW Excellent article, splendid photographs. Well done Lourens. Compliment to Yvette for well done editing and congratulations to all photographers. Beautifully done all of you. |
 | Judy Tseng PRO very classic still life images. Got to share them to my friend in Facebook. |
 | Yvette Depaepe CREW Thanks for your appreciation, dear Judy! |
 | Tatyana Skorokhod PRO Many thanks to the Editor Lourens Durand for the excellent article and a selection of photographs. The theme of the classic still life is extremely interesting and close for me. I am especially very grateful and glad that my work is mentioned in the article. Once again, thank the author of the article and Yvette Depaepe, I wish you creative inspiration and great light! |
| Yvette Depaepe CREW Thank you, Tatyana! Your classic still life work is amazing... Cheers, Yvette |
 | Marianne Wogeck PRO Exceptionally good images designed with imagination and skill. The photographer masters his profession from the ground up. Great work.
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| Yvette Depaepe CREW Thank you for your appreciation, dear Marianne! |
| | Yvette Depaepe CREW Superb selection of images! Congratulations to all the authors and big thanks to Editor Lourens Durand for this fine article. Cheers, Yvette |
