This Still Life with a Lute is an example of a pronkstilleven – literally a “showy” still life (from the Dutch word pronken, to boast). In the later seventeenth century, Roestraten was among those who satisfied British and Dutch taste for images of luxury items, and the objects on display here were both precious, fashionable and somewhat exotic, suggesting that whoever was in possession of the painting might also aspire to owning what it represented, or indeed reflecting what they already owned.

 

The picture is also rich in symbolism, with a focus on abundance and worldly pleasures, but also the ephemeral aspects of life found in Vanitas paintings. The composition stretches across a surface laden with objects, with a distant landscape revealed by a raised curtain in the background. The attentively described items include a lute, a score, goblets and cups. The lute was an instrument of “sublime music of kings and queens during the Renaissance”[1], but also evokes the passing of time, as the sound of music is a fleeting phenomenon. Likewise, a candle marks temporality. To the left of the lute stands an elaborately decorated gold goblet, further emphasizing a sense of celebration. A prominent medal hangs from the silvery ginger jar in the centre of the scene (Fig.1). It bears the bust-length image of a ruler wreathed with laurel in Ancient Roman style and is inscribed “IOHANNES CASIMIR / REX POLON[…]”. This refers to John II Casimir Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who reigned from 1648 until 1668; he died in 1672. His face also appears on Polish Schillings used in 1664 in Lithuania (Fig.2).

 

It is possible that Roestraten was asked to paint this canvas specifically for a Polish or Lithuanian client, as the reference to John Casimir is obviously very specific. The background vista could symbolize the land obtained by the King’s accession, after which he controlled the kingdoms of Sweden and Poland as well as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; and his wealth, or more generally that of the owner of the picture, could also be symbolized by the silverware. Roestraten was admired for his depiction of precious objects, including silver pots, in his still lifes. His paintings feature these almost identical jars.