Cornelis Norbertus Gysbrechts (or Gijsbrechts) (Flemish painter) 1610 - 1675
Trompe-l'oeil: Brievenbord met Zandloper, Scheermes en Schaar (Trompe-l'oeil: Letter Rack with Hourglass, Razor and Scissors), 1664
oil on canvas
101.9 x 83.4 cm.
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent, Belgium
The two works with a veil in mirror are believed to be counterparts. Here are the vanitas symbols quite evident: the dance master violin, horn, the empty list, the hourglass, the almanac, the gun refer to the vanity of earthly pleasures and the transience of life.
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n 17th-century Flemish and Dutch paintings still-lifes, kitchen scenes and even flower pieces often had a moral undertone in that they encouraged the viewer to reflect on the notion of transience. In some cases, they are out-and-out vanitas paintings, in which each object is intended as a reference to the vanity and transience of earthly existence, with its pleasures and concerns. The 'vanitas vanitatum' - vanity of vanities - idea provides the key to several remarkable still-lifes by Cornelis Norbert Gijsbrechts. This artist worked most notably for the Danish court, and specialized in trompe-l'oeil or illusionistic paintings. His vanitas still-lifes contain a collection of objects symbolizing earthly pursuits and death. The fact that the painting itself is an illusion of reality further emphasizes the work's deeper meaning - the futility of earthly existence.
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