Pieter de Ring's Still Life with a Golden Goblet: A Feast of Symbolism
Pieter de Ring's Still Life with a Golden Goblet (c. 1650s) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam exemplifies Dutch Golden Age banquet still-life painting. The work features a red lobster, citrus fruits, grapes, a golden goblet, and Chinese porcelain, each laden with symbolic meanings of wealth, mortality, and salvation. De Ring, who specialized in opulent still-lifes, catered to the prosperous middle-class patrons of the Dutch Republic, a Protestant nation without royal or church patronage. The painting measures 100 x 85 cm and includes the artist's signature ring motif.
Key facts
- Pieter de Ring painted Still Life with a Golden Goblet during the Dutch Golden Age.
- The painting is housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
- It measures 100 cm high by 85 cm wide.
- The red lobster symbolizes luxury, gluttony, and mortality.
- Grapes represent fertility and salvation.
- Lemons were symbols of conspicuous consumption.
- The golden goblet and Chinese porcelain indicate wealth.
- De Ring's signature is a ring painted on the right border.
Entities
Artists
- Pieter de Ring
Institutions
- Rijksmuseum
Locations
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands