Game and Fruit 1690 - 1721

Dirk Valkenburg created this still life painting "Game and Fruit" in the late 17th or early 18th century. During this time, the Dutch Golden Age was waning, yet the tradition of still life painting, laden with symbolic meaning, persisted. Valkenburg, who also painted scenes of enslaved people, seems to have understood the power of display. This composition isn't just about aesthetics; it reflects the complex relationship between humans and nature, and the social hierarchy of the time. Consider the contrast between the opulence of the fruit and the lifelessness of the game. The hunting dog, a symbol of wealth and status, looks on. What does it mean to arrange dead animals as objects of beauty? Is it a celebration of bounty, or a commentary on mortality and power? The very act of displaying these objects speaks to a culture of privilege, where the natural world is both a source of pleasure and a demonstration of dominance. Ultimately, this painting invites us to reflect on our own relationship with the natural world, and the ways in which we assign value and meaning to the objects around us.