Banquet Piece

This style of still life painting gained popularity in the Netherlands in the 17th century. A banquet still life generally depicts a dining table covered with luxury items. These items include fine linens, decadent food and beverages, and expensive serving pieces. In this painting the detailed surfaces and textures of the tablecloth, food, and tableware look real. The tableware is made from a variety of materials, including pewter, gold, silver, and glass. 

Still life paintings often contain visual clues about what was happening in religion, politics, or society. During the 17th century, Dutch colonization and trade brought wealth and a variety of imported goods to port cities like Amsterdam. Dutch citizens commissioned (hired) artists to paint banquet still lifes to show off their new wealth. Works like this one highlight the patron’s wealth and depict exotic goods that were being imported to the Netherlands from around the world. The overindulgent display on the table represents the country’s financial success during the Dutch Golden Age. 

Jan Jansz. den Uyl was a successful Dutch Golden Age painter. He is best known for his still life banquet pieces and his ability to paint realistic-looking detail and texture. The artist’s last name (Uyl) means owl in Dutch. He always included his signature owl motif in his still life paintings. In Banquet Piece he painted an owl design on top of the gold goblet.