Silver Wine Jug, Ham, and Fruit

About this artwork

With their typically large scale, and loose and energetic brushwork, Abraham van Beyeren’s opulent still life paintings were designed to be seen from a slight distance—perhaps installed over a mantelpiece. Here, for example, the silver wine jug is painted with rough strokes that seem almost abstract when viewed up close, but from a distance it becomes a fully realized object shimmering with complex reflections—including a ghostly self-portrait of the artist at his easel.