A Pieter Claesz “Banquet Piece” and Rhine Wine

Historian Simon Schama has called it an “embarrassment of riches” and even has written a book with that title to describe the wealth of the Netherlands in the 17th century. Many things come with great wealth, like throwing money at any and everything (investing in tulips?). One thing for sure, when money is prevalent, the art market does well. The names of the famous Dutch and Flemish painters of that age roll off the tongue with ease, Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Hals, and many others. The flourishing economy allowed for certain genres of art to develop as they suited the tastes of the newly prosperous merchant class, thus we have the famous Dutch landscapes of Jacob and Salomon Van Ruysdael. Another popular form was that of the still life, as seen in paintings of tables over-laden with all kinds of foods, full of gleaming silver and pewter vessels, and of course, wine. In fact, these food and drink souvenirs became known as “banquet pieces,” or “dinner pieces,” and Pieter Claesz of Haarlem became a specialist in that genre.

What comprises a banketje?

Claesz eschewed the colors and complicated compositions that were a holdover from the Mannerist traditions of the 16th century. Even though he was a Baroque painter, as shown in his easily recognized, highly realistic images, he concentrated on simple compositions, subtle monochromatic tones, and the role of reflected light. He followed the tradition of the dinner and breakfast pieces (called banketje) by having the objects in the painting close to the edge of a table corner. Yet, he does not do much overlapping of objects, allowing the viewer to engage each one and thus enjoy the individual richness of each. Here we see a close up of a roemer (sometimes spelled rumer), which had a stem covered with protruding knobs to help one keep a good grip on the glass of wine. The tonality in his palette is abbreviated by points of single bright colors and the glow of the light reflections off of silver, pewter or liquids, like wine.

In looking at Still Life with Large Roemer, Lemon and Grapes (1646), we can see all of those things mentioned above working together to produce a feeling of luxury and abundance. The background is in gray but with a slight variation around the roemer, where one sees a lighter gray touched with a bit of a subtle warm rose color. The table cloth moves almost without notice from a warm burnt carmine brown, which again produces a warmth around the roemer of wine, to a deep gray. The flowers in the background are of much less importance than the overturned roemer, which catches the light and allows for a streak of white to brighten up the dark background. Coming closer to the front of this table, the skins of the grapes reflect points of light, as does the curled metal of a knife handle. The main event consists of the bright yellow and white of that lemon, the golden brown crust of the bread, and the light on each of the nobs on the stem of the roemer. Even so, it is the soft golden-green of the light reflected in the wine that makes it all so tempting. At the same time, the partially peeled lemon, half eaten bread, and overturned roemer are reminders that life’s perfections change and move toward dissolution, a sharp warning to an oh-so-prosperous society.

The Artist

Pieter Claesz (1597-1660) grew up in Haarlem, the center of the Dutch flower trade, and was originally known for exuberant floral paintings. However, he became a master of a genre known as banquet pieces. His work grew more colorful again when he started doing elaborate table settings. He was also know for his Vanitas paintings. Vanitas are vanities, a theme that caused Florence’s mad priest, Savonarola, to have people throw their luxury goods onto bonfires (unfortunately for us, Botticelli threw some of his paintings into the flames). Though Claesz lived a hundred years of so later, the theme was still the subject of a number of painters, including Caravaggio. Pieter Claesz had a fine career in his lifetime and a son named Nicolas Berchem, who became a landscape painter.

Paintings by Claesz are in Public Domain.

Divine Rhine Wines

One of the types of wine that the Dutch used frequently was Rhine wine. Produced from the rocky soil along the banks of the Rhine River in Germany, Rhine wines most commonly known in the U.S. are Riesling and Gewürztraminer. These wines are often crisp and light in taste, though they can also be sweet. A lot depends on when the grapes are picked. In terms of Riesling, there are three categories: Kabinett comes from grapes harvested early, which produce a rather dry, light, crisp taste; Spatlese is from a late harvest and are semi-sweet; and Auslese are havested last and often used for dessert wines. The dry ones go nicely with pork or chicken, while the sweeter versions work well with cheese and paté.

Gewürztraminer is known for its scent of spice, fruit and florals. In fact, the name means “spiced Traminer” indicating that it is an aromatic wine. Made from a pink-skinned grape, the Savangin Rose, the wine itself is a rather recent creation dating from the 1800s, though the winegrowers, perhaps to give it extra cachet, associated it with wines from the Tramin which go back 800 years. Whatever the case historically, it has a distinct sweet, spicy flavor and a definite perfume. It pairs well with such items as stir-fried pork and crayfish. The wines high alcohol content and low acidity can allow the level of sweetness to increase with the wine losing its balance. At best it has been compared to a musical composition and at worst to a “cheap perfume.” (For more on this interesting wine see the following Wall St. Journal article from which I quote: https://www.wsj.com/articles/gewurztraminer-a-rare-rewarding-wine-even-if-you-cant-pronounce-it-1472837792)

Ice Wines: The Shotgun Wedding of 1794

So what do you do when a sudden hard freeze happens a bit earlier than expected, and the grapes become marble hard beads of ice? Well, you force a marriage of grapes and cold weather. That is what they did in Franconia, Germany in 1794 when they created the first ice wine or Eiswein. In fact, the Ancient Romans had beaten them to it, but the recipe was lost (along with the one for concrete) until the genius of necessity occurred in Franconia (for the wine, not the concrete). Ice wines are very sweet since the water in them freezes, and the sugars do not. The yield from such grapes is sparse, so making ice wine takes determination. The grapes used vary but are often the same as for Rieslings or Gewürstraminers. As a dessert wine it can be paired with a soft cheese or served with ice cream or cheesecake. The largest modern day production of ice wines comes from, of course, Canada, where you can take your experience of ice wine to a new level by having it served inside an igloo at Peller Estates Winery and Restaurant (see video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU79wUCsIww ) I must add, however, that New York State and Michigan are dominant ice wine makers in the United States. As well, the James Cole Winery in Napa, California is known for a superb Merlot ice wine.

Luckily for us, growers in the U.S. make very fine wines from the grape varieties originally found along the Rhine. One can have access to a wide variety of high quality wines at affordable prices from a wine club, such as Cellars Wine Club. Cellars has a plan for every level of taste and budget, including single bottle offerings, International wines, and their famous “no bad bottle” policy www.cellarswineclub.com.

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

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©marjorie vernelle 2019

Coming soon…

Summer is almost here, time for red wine. Red wine in summer! Yes, indeed, just look at Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. I will give you some suggestions for your summer outings and the juicy details about the painting.

Images are from public domain or free sources.