Still Life

The subject of this huge canvas is abundance and opulence. It is as if the artist, Adriaen van Utrecht, has juxtaposed a great many small still-life paintings to create a single great composition. Almost every subject that can be depicted in a still life, Van Utrecht has depicted: tropical and indigenous fruit, meat and shellfish, musical instruments, expensive kitchen utensils and an exotic shell. And yet the work is not a still life pure and simple since it also shows living creatures, namely a dog, a monkey and a parrot.