Vanitas Still-Life
by COLLIER, Edwart, Oil on canvas, 75 x 63 cm
Edwart Collier painted almost exclusively vanitas still-lifes throughout his career. The present version was executed in 1694, the year after his arrival in London. It depicts an upturned lute, a globe turned to the Pacific Ocean, an open copy of Cardanus Rider’s British Merlin, and an engraving of Caesar Octavianus Augustus.
The painting is signed and dated upper right: E.Collier/ Anno 1694.