Still Life on a Table

The festively laid table with a rich arrangement of rare fruit and valuable vessels is an example of the early concept of still life painting. Gillis was one of the first Dutch painters who specialised in this genre. He represented the objects as faithfully as he could and distributed them equally within the entire pictorial area so as to evoke an illusion of reality. His contemporaries perceived the work as a reminder of rare dishes and beautiful vessels as God´s gifts, for which it is necessary to thank in their prayers.