Art Throb #18: Still Life of Breakfast with Champagne Glass and Pipe (1642) by Jan Davidszoon de Heem (1606-1684)

Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606-1684), Still-Life, Breakfast with Champagne Glass and Pipe (1642)
Oil on oak, 47 cm (18.5 in) x 59 cm (23.2 in)
Residenzgalerie, Salzburg

The words 'champagne breakfast' have to be two of the most exciting in any language. It reminds me of the John Mortimer quote: "I can only suggest you do your best to banish anxiety, preferably with a glass of champagne, and lay yourself open to the moment when happiness becomes irresistible." What better time of day to do this than at breakfast? In a previous Art Throb I stated that an ideal still life for me would include a bottle of champagne. Well, I've found one which includes not only a glass of champagne, but one that is also meant to be consumed for breakfast.

Pioneered by Dutch artist Willem Claeszoon Heda, the 'late breakfast' was an actual sub-genre of still life paintings, and a breakfast like this would be enough to get me jumping out of bed any day of the week (except for the pipe). Get a load of that sumptuous abundance of shellfish, fruit and Champagne. Sensuously rendered by de Heem with clean lines and lush colours, the fruit and fish look good enough to eat, the pomegranate seeds sparkle like jewels and the grapes look so juicy you could almost pick them out of the painting. Sparkling light glances off various surfaces throughout – the pomegranate seeds, the grapes, the metal vase and the glass on the left – but it's the glass of champagne which is a masterpiece in the depiction of light reflecting through liquid. A modest amount – perhaps the bubbles have subsided – the champagne forms the pinnacle of a triangular arrangement of objects, its golden glow presiding over the rest of the painting like a halo (the glass too is triangle-shaped). One wonders if the artist included it within the arrangement with the intention of drinking it at any point.

The inclusion of fish and fruit within any still life inevitably associates it with the 'vanitas' type of painting, which emphasised the fleeting, transient nature of life that will inevitably succumb to death and decay. Bubbles too symbolise the brevity of existence, while a peeled lemon may well be the ideal culinary accompaniment to fish – but it also tastes sour. Such paintings are momento mori, reminders of our mortality. While many still lifes may have an initial, superficial feeling of calm in their harmonious arrangement, there is often a frisson, a slight tension. In the latter stages of their popularity, still lifes almost always included a dishevelled cloth and an overturned goblet, conveying a sense of unease – the neat arrangement of objects is disturbed. In the painting above, the golden objects – the vase and the champagne – suggest a preoccupation with earthly possessions, while the peeled lemon skin coils serpent-like at the heart of the painting. On the right, what looks like a piece of rope also twists like a snake, as if about to slide off the edge of the table.

This serpent-like rope is an example of an ordinary, natural objects being transformed into something extraordinary. Glinting and shimmering, the fruit look like precious jewels. de Heem's illustration of fine glass and metal, rendered with delicate brush strokes, results in a mesmerising level of realism with astonishing tactile qualities. He also achieves great simplicity.  The use of metaphor is another strength. With its tempting fruit and wine – and the coiling serpent – the painting depicts the Garden of Eden on a table.

Not only that, but the painting is a reminder of the good life. Situated at the top of the painting, the champagne, which shimmers like gold, suggests something heavenly. Who wouldn't want to eat a breakfast like this? Working in Utrecht and Antwerp, de Heem's considerable artistic abilities earned him an excellent reputation. To keep up with demand, his three sons had to help him in his workshop. Born in 1606, he lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1684. I can't help but wonder if a regular consumption of champagne, fish and fruit would have contributed to this.

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