Still Life with Fruit 1675

Jacob van Walscapelle's 'Still Life with Fruit' offers a banquet of symbols, a feast for thought. Consider the pomegranate, split open to reveal its seeds, a symbol of fertility and abundance, life and regeneration. This motif stretches back to ancient Greece, where it was associated with Persephone and the cycle of seasons, the rhythm of death and rebirth. The grapes too, plump and heavy, evoke Dionysian revelry, pleasure, but also sacrifice. Notice how the refraction of light through the glass of wine reminds me of the alchemical significance of transformation and spiritual enlightenment. Like the 'Fetzen'—fragments—that litter the path of cultural memory, the pomegranate reappears throughout history, from Renaissance paintings to modern-day advertisements, each time imbued with new layers of meaning. Its presence here invites us to contemplate the cyclical nature of existence, the perpetual dance between decay and renewal, life and death.