In my still life photography, I aim to capture the riches of the Dutch Golden Age – roughly the 17th century. The Golden Age was a period of prosperity during which the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands became a world power in the fields of trade, art, science, and military might. Thanks to the VOC (East Indies) and WIC (West Indies), the Netherlands dominated world trade, while painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer became world famous. However, this prosperity was largely based on slavery and colonialism.
Amsterdam served as the world’s staple market. The establishment of the VOC (East India Company, 1602) and the Wisselbank (exchange bank) brought unprecedented wealth. Dutch painting reached its peak with the “Dutch School” (Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals). Scientists such as Christiaan Huygens and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek were leading figures.
Still life paintings gained popularity in this period. Painters such as Willem Claesz Heda, Clara Peeters, Jan Davidsz. de Heem, and Rachel Ruysch used them to show off their skills and – often – to convey moral messages. Many of the still lifes pictured symbols and carried messages against the pitfalls of wealth and earthly pleasures without taking into account religious rules and the judgment of God. The rich still lifes were examples of the division in society at that time, which consisted of immeasurable wealth on the one hand and strict Calvinism on the other.
In my still life photos, symbolism and moral warnings don’t really play a much smaller role. Transience, however, is a theme that appeals to me, especially because I often see beauty in decay. That is why the fruit and flowers I photograph are sometimes not fresh and, in a few cases, already rotten. In general, as a photographer, I am more concerned with the richness of the image, in colors and materials, and the feeling the viewer gets, than with capturing truly costly objects.