VERMEULEN, Jan - b. ~1618 Haarlem, d. ~1674 Haarlem - WGA

VERMEULEN, Jan

(b. ~1618 Haarlem, d. ~1674 Haarlem)

Jan Vermeulen or Johannes van der Meulen, Dutch painter specialized in vanitas still-lifes. One of the leading vanitas painters in 17th century Haarlem, his works were highly regarded for their immaculate realism. He often included musical instruments, large open folio volumes, and tankards in his compositions

Listed in the 1651 Haarlem guild records under the name Johannes van der Meulen, he is also identifiable with the Monogramist IVM.

Vanitas Still-Life
Vanitas Still-Life by

Vanitas Still-Life

The present vanitas still-life includes a skull with an ivy wreath, a crown, money bags, an hourglass and a book of sheet music, pearls and other objects on a stone plinth. Inscriptions on two sheets of paper can be read: MORS / OMNIA / VINCIT (Death Conquers All); and VANITAS / VANITATUM / ET OMNIA / VANITAS (Ecclesiastes 1:2, Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity).

This elaborately detailed painting is the only known dated still-life in the artist’s oeuvre: it is dated 1654 on the sheet music, lower right.

Vanitas Still-Life with a Lobed Table
Vanitas Still-Life with a Lobed Table by

Vanitas Still-Life with a Lobed Table

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