POORTER, Willem de

The painting depicts an interior with a woman praying at a table, with books, an hour glass and other objects.

Willem de Poorter was influenced by Rembrandt’s dramatic handling of light and Dou’s ‘fijnschilder’ technique and meticulous still-life elements. He preferred subjects in which women played the lead roles, and which offered him the opportunity to paint ornamental vessels and items made of marble, silver or gold. The present work allowed him to revel in both his favourite motifs.

The painting belongs to a Hungarian private collection, it is on long term loan to the Sz�pm�v�szeti M�zeum, Budapest.

The subject is taken from the Greek author Herodotus. Croesus, king of Lydia, whose riches were proverbial, was said to have been visited by Solon (638-558 BC) the Athenian sage. The words of Solon - that the humble, when blessed with good fortune, were happier than Croesus with all his wealth - earned the king’s displeasure. Later the Persian king Cyrus conquered Lydia and built a pyre for his vanquished foe. About to be burned alive, Croesus remembered the wisdom of Solon and thrice called out his name, which so roused the curiosity of Cyrus that he spared his victim’s life.

Willem de Poorter’s painting illustrates the conversation between Croesus and Solon. Between the king and sage, a third man can be seen straining his neck to glimpse the splendour on display. A variety of vessels and urns, all elaborately embellished and shining with gold, lie scattered on the floor and on a table covered in dark red velvet.

It can hardly be a coincidence that armour and weapons often occur in still-lifes painted during the Thirty Years’ War. This war, which caused unimaginable suffering, was originally started by the Spanish-Austrian House of Habsburg together with the League of the Roman Catholic Estates of the Empire. They were committed to the Counter-Reformation and wanted to re-catholicize the rebellious Republic of the United Netherlands after it had become independent in 1609, and in particular to conquer the economic resources of this wealthy country. Subsequently, however, the war spread more an more widely, with the involvement of an increasing number of countries. Dragging on interminably, the final phase was marked by soldiers pillaging, looting and brutally exploiting the civilian population.

This is the background of paintings like Poorter’s still-life. Painted in 1636, it provides an emblematic, impressionist commentary on the war. In 1634 the Imperial troops had gained a victory at N�rdlingen, so that the situation changed in favour of the League. This may well explain the “vanitas” character of the painting, expressed in the skull and the sarcophagus behind the banner which divides the picture diagonally into two parts. Thus, the victories of the other side are made to seem bearable, as they are mere vanity in the face of eternity. The crown and sceptre on the sarcophagus are a clear reference to the Emperor’s power.

A speciality developed by De Poorter was the vanitas allegory. He treated several different kinds of vanitas motifs, often with a woman looking into a mirror. In the present painting a woman at her dressing table is seen to flinch at a skeleton that is holding up a mirror to her - a reminder of her mortality. The style of the painting is typical of the circle around the young Rembrandt in the 1630s.

De Poorter often incorporated still-lifes into his compositions. Here a great many props are piled up together: shiny brass objects, silverware, jewels and pieces of armour as well as musical instruments.