Painted during the Covid lockdown of 2020, I decided to paint a still life in the Dutch Realist style that I’ve long admired. I set up a scene on my mantelpiece and worked from life and reference images.

Dutch Breakfast Still Life (Ontbijtjes) are a type of still life painting developed in the 17th century. While the word “ontbijtjes” is Dutch for breakfast, it was more thought of as “a light meal taken at any time of day”. The Breakfast Still Life is characterized by the display of everything from common everyday foods and items to rare delicacies and luxury goods such as roemers (wine glasses), silver/gold goblets, and chinese porcelain bowls. Still life paintings in this genre ranged from small and simple to large and complex with a variety of meanings, both literal and symbolic.

©2023 joshua leigh