Still Life with Oysters, a Silver Tazza, and Glassware
Medium
Oil on wood
Dimensions
19 5/8 x 31 3/4 in. (49.8 x 80.6 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
From the Collection of Rita and Frits Markus, Bequest of Rita Markus, 2005
Accession Number
2005.331.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Willem Claesz H's *Still Life with Oysters a Silver Tazza, Glassware* (1635) is a masterful example of Dutch Golden Age still painting. Rendered in oil on wood, this intimate panel (19 5/8 x 31 3/4 in.) captures a luxurious banquet table scattered with oysters, lemons, delicate drinking glasses, and a gleaming silver tazza—a shallow cup often used for communal toasts. Heda, a leading innovator in the "monochrome banquet" style, employs a subdued palette of grays, whites, and subtle earth tones to evoke quiet elegance and realism. Heda's technique shines in his meticulous depiction of textures...