Vanitas artwork featuring the new menu of the Rijksmuseum restaurant. I drew inspiration from the techniques of old master painters, who used a dark tent with a lens as a camera obscura to project still life compositions onto a canvas, enabling them to add color with precision. However, these projections were relatively small, requiring the camera to be shifted multiple times. This often led to perspective distortions and misalignments in the spacing between objects.

 

If you look closely at my work, you’ll notice that I photographed the table from three different vanishing points, which creates a slightly crooked appearance. I also wanted to include a skull, a classic element of vanitas still life, but felt it wasn’t suitable to place it next to the delicacies. Instead, I transformed the light source itself into a large skull, which is subtly reflected in the glassware throughout the composition.

 

styling : Judith Rasenberg

commissioned by De Volkskrant (Dutch newspaper)