Still Life by William Merritt Chase

This sumptuous still life painting executed by Chase William Merritt, titled “Still Life”, pays a vibrant tribute to the pictorial tradition of the Flemish Renaissance. The artist succeeds in recreating an atmosphere of intimacy and bourgeois preciousness, combining luxury and fleeting fragility. Each element is arranged in such a way as to guide the eye through an arrangement of refined and highly symbolic objects.

A beautifully crafted gilded bronze jewelry box, open to a purple velvet interior, reveals precious ornaments and a delicate chain. A long necklace of lustrous white pearls escapes from it to curl gracefully on the dark draped tablecloth. Behind this box, a decorative light earthenware plate adorned with subtle floral motifs stands vertically, facing a ceramic covered box with intricate blue and white designs. To the right of the table, two glass bottles, one of amber liquid and the other of emerald green, complete the scene. A bouquet of fresh roses in soft pink and white hues harmoniously surrounds these treasures under a soft dimmed light.

The virtuosity of oil painting is manifested in the extraordinary realistic rendering of different materials. Merritt shows an exceptional sense of detail through the reflections of the glass and the pearly luster of the pearls. This masterpiece attests to a remarkable poetic sensitivity and an incomparable technical mastery.