Jan Davidsz. de Heem ( 1606 – 1683/1684), Still Life with Books and a Violin, 1626, Oil on oak panel, 36.1 x 48.5 cm, Snijders & Rockoxhuis Museum, Antwerp, on a short-term loan from the Mauritshuis, The Hague
In the 1620s, while still in Leiden before moving to Antwerp, de Heem embraced the theme of still lifes with books, emphasising life’s brevity and the futility of worldly pursuits. Here, he selected specific literary works to convey messages about life’s fragility and human passions. Two books—Bredero’s ‘Roderick and Alphonsus’ (1611) and Westerbaen’s ‘Kisses and Complaints’ (1624)—symbolise human frailty, desire, and the consequences of unchecked emotions.
Bredero’s ‘Roderick and Alphonsus’ is a tragedy about rivalry, betrayal, and the destructive power of unchecked emotions. Two knights, once close friends, fall in love with the same woman, leading to a deadly conflict and Roderick accidentally killing Alphonsus. This mirrors the vanitas tradition, where love and jealousy lead to destruction, showing how even the strongest bonds and ideals can crumble under human folly and fleeting desires.
The second book, Westerbaen’s ‘Kisses and Complaints’, a collection of love poems, explores the regrets that follow moments of passion, symbolising how physical pleasure can give way to emotional pain. The title suggests love’s duality—its pleasures (‘kisses’) and its sorrows (‘complaints’). By featuring this book, de Heem underscores the transitory nature of sensual pleasures and their ultimate futility in the grand scheme of life, aligning with the broader vanitas theme of his still lifes.
Two other objects in the composition, the violin and the cookie mould, further amplify this message. The violin symbolises the fleeting nature of music, an auditory pleasure that vanishes as soon as the sound fades, much like life itself. The damaged cookie mould, with its association with indulgence, adds another layer of impermanence—physical pleasures such as sweet food are likewise short-lived.
De Heem’s use of literature and symbolism in this early work shows his engagement with intellectual ideas, elevating still life to a medium for philosophical reflection.
