Vanitas - Homage

Here is an homage to one of my favourite still life paintings by Pieter Claesz, given a 21st century spin. In Claesz' original, he expounds a theorem of his art. The eye is guided to the various details by the lighting. The overturned glass, drained to the very last drop, seems to symbolize the briefness of worldly pleasures. The pocket watch is facing away from us and has its back open, as if someone had tried to fathom the mysterious nature of time. The violin probably symbolizes the comparison and rivalry between the two arts of painting and music. Together with the book, the quill and its holder refer to writing, literature and the logocentric character of the vanitas. The glass ball is a fascinating, unusual motif, recalling a soap bubble - a conventional still-life symbol for the fragility of human life.

In my 21st century take there is a doughnut.