Joseph
Biays Ord's, All Things Perish — owned by the Turak
Gallery
— is in the tradition of vanitas still life painting. The vanitas
theme
found its way into painting around 1600 in Holland, but the ultimate
roots
of the genre are to be found in ancient Greek philosophy. Taking as its
inspiration Ecclesiastes 1:2: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,"
vanitas
paintings serve as reminders that the power, the pleasures, even the
beauty
of this earthly life are transient compared to that which meets us
after
death. The paintings were moralizing in intent and served as reminders,
even admonishments, to not attach meaning or importance, to the things
of this world. Traditionally in vanitas paintings attributes that
symbolize
material wealth, knowledge, nature, pleasure in other words, temporal
things
of this earth, are juxtaposed with objects that embody the hope of
Christ's
resurrection and everlasting life.
The
Turak painting may be dissected to produce a virtual laundry list of
elements
traditionally associated with vanitas painting. The woodland setting
ultimately
traced back to the 17th century Dutch still life painter Otto Marseus
van
Schriek, who painted a variety of flora, seemingly in their natural
setting,
along with lizards, snakes, and frogs. Actually van Schriek
artificially
arranged the plant life he portrayed, for things apparently grow
together
that actually have different natural habitats, but all is chosen for
its
symbolic content. The tradition of the woodland still life was carried
on by the Dutch artists Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750). Her father, Dr.
Frederick
Ruysch was a renowned anatomist and director of Amsterdam's botanical
garden,
who also maintained a natural history museum, where he exhibited
natural
curiosities, which his daughter helped him to prepare. One sees a
parallel
in Ruysch's circumstances to Joseph Ord and is forced to consider
whether
living with his father the naturalist did not give him easy access to,
and inspiration to paint the snake, birds, butterfly, thistle, and
other
flora and fauna apparent in the Turak painting.
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