Still Life with Pipe and Matches

About this artwork

The artist was a smoker. In this composition the place of honor is given to a pipe made in Austria around the middle of the 19th century. It is made of precious materials—meerschaum, silver, amber, horn, or lacquered wood—that are carefully fashioned, all lovingly rendered by the artist. The cord with a tassel (perhaps horsehair) is not just a decorative element, it is a security measure in case the precious bowl of the pipe becomes detached from the pipe stem. The pipe is surrounded by ordinary...