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Still Life with Travelling Trunk

A work made of etching in black on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching in black on cream laid paper.

Date:

1640s

Artist:

attributed to Leonard Bramer (Dutch, 1596-1674)
published by Theodor Matham (Dutch, 1605/06-1676)

About this artwork

Leonard Bramer spent most of his professional career traveling throughout the Netherlands, France, and Italy, and he was deeply influenced by the dramatic chiaroscuro paintings of Caravaggio. Although primarily known as a painter and draftsman of history and religious scenes, he created a handful of still lifes, each with a moralizing theme. Here, the overturned wine glass, open trunk, money, and playing cards represent the transience of life.
Unlike his peer Rembrandt, Bramer made very few prints; only one signed work survives. This still life, previously thought to have been etched by Bramer, is now believed to be after one of his lost paintings. A print tacked up onto the wall in a haphazard fashion serves to explain why so many prints from the 17th century have not survived to the present day.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Leonard Bramer

Title

Still Life with Travelling Trunk

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1640–1654

Medium

Etching in black on cream laid paper

Inscriptions

Inscribed recto upper left, in plate, in image: “Matham excu”

Dimensions

13.6 × 18.6 cm (5 3/8 × 7 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

John H. Wrenn Memorial Fund

Reference Number

1940.92

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/36840/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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