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Title
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Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill
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Rights
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain.
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Creator
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Pieter Claesz (1596/97–1660)
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Date
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1628
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Description
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In this still life, close observation and realistic detail operate in tension with explicit symbolism. The toppled glass, gap-toothed skull, and guttering wick of an oil lamp all serve as stark symbols of life’s brevity. Working with a limited palette of grays and browns, Claesz carefully describes the surfaces of these unsettling objects. By arranging them on a pitted stone ledge, the artist connects the picture’s space to our own, making the message all the more compelling.
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Format
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Painting. Oil on wood. 9 1/2 x 14 1/8 in.
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Publisher
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Contributor
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Laura Barclay
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Identifier
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49.107
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Subject
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skull; quill; feather; glass; oil lamp; Pieter Cliesz; Cliesz; book; still life.
