- Artist
- Edward Collier active 1662–1708
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 838 × 1079 mm
frame: 1004 × 1242 × 70 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased 1949
- Reference
- N05916
Display caption
In this still-life painting the musical instruments, wine and jewels represent the fleeting pleasures of life, while the skull and hour-glass symbolise the inevitability of death. The open book shows a brief poem emphasising the theme of mortality. The Latin inscription in the top left corner comes from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes: ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’. This is why such pictures are known as vanitas paintings. Born in the Netherlands, Collier arrived in England in 1693 to produce still-life paintings like this to sell to the English market. He died in London in 1708.
Gallery label, February 2016
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