Vanitas Still-Life
by COLLIER, Edwart, Oil on panel, 29 x 25 cm
The composition contains standard vanitas elements: the hourglass, pocket watch, and candle that has been snuffed out (denoting the passage of time and the brevity of life); the musical instruments (the fleeting pleasure of music); and the astrological globe and scholarly books, here including Plutarch’s Lives (the vanity of learning). All represent the transience of earthly existence and the vacuity of worldly pursuits.