Still Life with Violin and Engraving of Arcangelo Corelli, Dutch School

“What is this mélange of objects doing in a painting?” this is what I first thought when I saw Still Life with a Violin and Engraving of Arcangelo Corelli by the School of Bourguignon. School of Bourguignon stands for “School of Burgundy”, but that is pretty much all that is known about this mid-18th Century still life. Still lives are paintings of inanimate objects. Many of the still lives in the 1700’s included fruit or flowers sitting on a table and was the popular thing to paint instead of the outdated religious painting. The artist used oil on canvas to paint this piece, which was the typical material used back in the day. In the work we can see a half-peeled lemon sitting next to an orange or other type of fruit that are both lying on a silver tray. There is also an intricate golden lamp next to a bowl of water with a ladle in it. In the back there is an expensive vase with a design that appears to be a person walking through a park. The vase might have been liked with the fascination of the east when fine goods and china were being shipped to Europe from China. The main focal point that my eyes kept coming back to seems to be the violin sitting next to a portrait of a famous Italian violinist and composer Arcangelo Corelli that is on a luxurious red blanket. I am starting to see all the components come together. I now think is a shrine dedicated to Corelli with food and water for his spirit to have while his ashes are neatly tucked away in the vase. Why the artist really painted it, the world may never know, but what we do know is that this still life is a very fine and intricate masterpiece. Thank you for listening, this has been Lucas Mackey with another bulldog podcast.

Still Life, painted by a Dutch art school lost to time, was created to immortalize the famous musician Corelli. Reminiscent of older times, the piece shows multiple extravagant items, including a golden chalice, a clay jar, silver trays full of fruits, and a picture of Corelli right by his precious violin. These items seemed to me as a showcase of Corelli’s wealth and passions. To focus more on his musical career however, Arcangelo Corelli is a renowned violinist known for his dramatic style displayed in his numerous concerti grossi, which entertained thousands and inspired composers for centuries to come. However, for me after my first glance at the piece, and maybe yours too, you might notice its hollow feeling. The few bright and colorful segments being dulled out with muted tones dimmed further by the dark room. So I thought there could be a different meaning here as well; maybe the dark Dutch art style can stand for something else, even if it’s past the artist's intention. If you learned about Dutch history, you might know about the VOC, or Dutch East India Company, the VOC is known for being the first company to colonize and exploit foreign countries for resources. Looking closer, we can fairly confidently assume the origins of most of the items: the jar is of chinaware, the chalice seems to be made with components mined from Africa, and the blanket is reminiscent of Asian styles. However, knowing the conditions of colonies during this era, we can infer that these items were not obtained using fair methods. Overall, I see this painting not only as a tribute to Corelli, but also as a critique on colonialism. The dim lighting and tone of the image represent how colonizers drain the world of creativity where powerful countries take what is not rightfully theirs. This is Sejun Yun with another Bulldog Art Tour.