#ArtSaturday Willem Claeszoon Heda, mostly shortened to Willem Claesz. Heda, 1593/1594 – 1680/1682
Dutch Golden Age painter famous for his still lifes pic.twitter.com/POl8TU8pbu— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda was born to an architect, whose brother was a painter. Not much else is known of Heda's early work, but it is surmised that he began painting by age 20.Still Life with Roemer, 1630 pic.twitter.com/LUjDocfetw
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Breakfast Pieces, a sub-genre of Still Lifes in Dutch Golden Age painting, depicted tableware, glassware, & exotic foodstuffs only the wealthy could afford.Still Life with Roemer, Silver Tazza, Watch, Walnuts, & Olives, 1630 (photo: Rijksmuseum) pic.twitter.com/Tull3ddhGd
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Breakfast Pieces were a form of Protestant Reformation Art, in which church leaders wanted to remind viewers to be good and moral without displaying the religious subjects favored by the Roman Catholic Church.Still Life with Silver Tazza, 1631 pic.twitter.com/uhZjTe7c8l
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Breakfast Pieces were considered to be Vanitas ("remember, you must die") paintings, since the food objects were all subject to decay, as were the wealthy art patrons & viewers.Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie, 1631
photo: Google Art Project pic.twitter.com/8yCnvcRjUX— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Most of the paintings done during the Dutch Golden Age were commissioned by wealthy patrons, who displayed the paintings in their own homes.Still Life with Roemer, Silver Tazza, and Gilded Tankard, 1634 pic.twitter.com/pGabeyvs1u
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Though the Breakfast Pieces were supposed to remind patrons & viewers that "life is short" & "everyone must die," the patrons probably liked the works more for showing how wealthy they were.Still Life with Oyster, Roemer, and Silver Tazza, 1634 pic.twitter.com/xdUYUWiUXN
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda's Breakfast Pieces became famous for his unusual, "unbalanced" compositions of the paintings' objects.Still Life with Roemer, Oysters, Silver Tazza, Lemon, and Broken Glass, 1634 pic.twitter.com/lhgCTTObDX
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda was also famous for his "monochromatic" paintings: his palette was rather dark with few bright colors, which was very popular during the Dutch Golden Age.Still Life with Roemer, Silver Tazza, Lemon, Broken Glass, and Breakfast Pie, 1634 pic.twitter.com/TRY0kF3Xj5
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda is considered particularly skilled at displaying the intricate design of goblets, roemers, tazzas, silver plates, mother-of-pearl handled cutlery, etc.Banquet Piece with Mince Pie, 1635
photo: Google Art Project pic.twitter.com/Lhw1nVPP1d— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda often used the same pieces, rearranged, in his paintings. The mother-of-pearl handled knife, for instance, as well as the silver tazza and the roemer, are in quite a few of his works.Still Life with Gilt Cup, 1635
photo: Rijksmuseum pic.twitter.com/PQZQC4uR02— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda named most of his works "Still Life." Museums, and art critics/historians name the other items in the paintings to distinguish them from Heda's other works.Still Life with Silver Tazza, Oysters, Lemon, and Glassware, 1635 pic.twitter.com/oLyKPHmjQo
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda's earlier Still Lifes were less crowded than his later ones.Still Life with Ham and a Roll, 1635-1640 pic.twitter.com/lCeI8Us9BM
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda often portrayed some of the foodstuffs in his Breakfast Pieces after some of them had been consumed.Still Life with Ham, 1635 pic.twitter.com/SjqfU5mgVV
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda frequently portrayed his glassware overturned or horizontally rather than vertically, which was considered quite unusual and "dramatic."Still Life with Breakfast Pie and Silver and Pewter Vessels, 1634
photo: Google Art Project pic.twitter.com/kBYLXbvXJA— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Portraying some of the items horizontally rather than vertically allowed Heda to better display the intricate craftmanship of the objects (as well as his talent at painting details).Still Life with Blackcurrant Pie and Nautilus Cup, c 1635-1640 pic.twitter.com/1vZdWNPZsO
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Some of the objects in Heda's paintings were so expensive, like lemons, that they were considered exotic.Still Life with Silver Tazza, Nautilus Cup, Oysters, Lemon, and Porcelain Bowl, 1639 pic.twitter.com/oB4DGNlAvQ
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda's artistic skill was recognized early in his career by other Haarlem artists, poets, and art patrons/collectors.Still LIfe with Roemer, Oysters, Soup, Lemon, and Bread, c 1640 pic.twitter.com/FVxxnJ9Dzw
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda often included elaborately folded or draped fabrics along with an assortment of expensive glassware with the exotic (i.e., quite expensive) food objects (like lemon).Still Life with Gilt Tazza, Tobacco, and Peeled Lemon, c 1640 pic.twitter.com/PWuOhfRLFo
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
In the 1640s, Heda began to add more objects to his works and to modify his compositions.Still Life with Broken Glass, 1642
photo: Rijksmuseum pic.twitter.com/OvI3CKRMlb— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda began to add more linen, such as napkins and tablecloths, usually crinkled or folded, to his paintings in the 1640s.Still Life with Silver Pitcher and Breakfast Pie, 1645 pic.twitter.com/jAS9O9Ra9p
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
In the 1650s, Heda lightened his palette considerably.Breakfast Table with Crab and Lemon, c 1650 pic.twitter.com/pqY1xLvCBw
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda lightened the background of his Breakfast Pieces in the 1650s, "illuminating" the objects on the table.Still Life with Fruit Pie, Nuts, and Glassware, c 1650 pic.twitter.com/9fa10yta2Q
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda's painted reflections of the table objects in the silver and pewter vases, and his intricate portrayal of the light on the glassware is masterful.Still Life with Breakfast Pie, Roemer, Tazza, Lemon, and Broken Glassware, c 1650 pic.twitter.com/OIi6wNJp6A
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Many of Heda's works feature a watch, complete with key for winding (on a silk ribbon) as Vanitas reminders.Still Life with Roemer, Silver Goblet, Fish, Bread, Lemon, & Watch, 1650s
(note reflections of sunlit windows in the glass of the Roemer) pic.twitter.com/RSMItfnYnz— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda's masterful work is considered some of the best representations of Vanitas paintings, sub-genre Breakfast Pieces, during the period of Protestant Reformation Art & the Dutch Golden Age.Still Life with Glassware, Silver, and Crab, 1640-1650 pic.twitter.com/CXYvqUshEn
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda's work, along with those of other masters of the Dutch Golden Age, was often ignored in the 1700s and early 1800s.Still Life with Breakfast Pie, Watch, Roemer, Silver Tazza, and Olives in Porcelain Bowl, 1650s pic.twitter.com/dEYhNzcSaS
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Later artists, critics, and patrons rediscovered Heda (and the other great painters of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Vermeer, Ruysch, and Rembrandt).Banquet Piece with Ham, 1656
photo: Google Art Project pic.twitter.com/soiOc79jbv— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019
#ArtSaturday Willem Claesz. Heda
Heda is one of the most recognized masters of the Dutch Golden Age, and his works are in museums worldwide.Banquet Piece with Silver Ewer, Crab, Nautilus Cup, Lemon, Nuts in Porcelain Bowl, and Bread, 1658 pic.twitter.com/JLtlTEVg5m
— Dr Alexandria Szeman: Award-Winning #Author 📚🖋🎃 (@Alexandria_SZ) October 19, 2019