Oil paint on canvas
Tate Britain
Tate Collection
Works with images
Works on display
General Collection
Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/edward-collier-100" aria-label="More by Edward Collier" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Edward Collier</a>
Still Life
Purchased 1948
birth to death
book - non-specific
candle
death - extinguished candle
document - non-specific
emotional states and conditions
emotions, concepts and ideas
ephemerality
furnishings
globe
government and politics
heating and lighting
inkstand
objects
political power
quill pen
reading, writing, printed matter
scientific and measuring
sealing wax
society
symbols and personifications
table
universal concepts
vanity - learned documents
<p>This seemingly straightforward arrangement of objects alludes to several major themes of the period. The wider world is referred to by the globe and the atlas. A political element is included through the transcript of a speech delivered by William III to Parliament, concerning the disbandment of the army.</p><p>But is the painting wholly worldly, or does it have a more philosophical element? The Latin motto on the left translates as ‘Life is short, but art endures’.</p><p><em>Gallery label, March 2011</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
14 April 2003 – 7 March 2005
2005-03-07
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2003-04-14
Worldly Goods
Collection based display
11 November 2010 – 20 November 2011
2011-11-20
11 November 2010 – 20 November 2011
2011-11-20
2010-11-11
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2010-11-11
Court, Country, City
Collection based display
19 May 2012 – 3 October 2012
2012-10-03
19 May 2012 – 1 October 2012
2012-10-01
2012-05-19
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2012-05-19
Dead Standing Things: Still Life 1660-1740
Collection based display
26 September 2022
4 October 2021
2021-10-04
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2022-09-26
Gallery 92
Collection based display
Still Life
support: 762 × 635 mm
frame: 942 × 807 × 96 mm
Purchased 1948
<p><a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/s/still-life" title="Glossary definition for 'Still life'"><span>Still-life</span></a> <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a> never became as common in Britain as it was on the Continent. The examples that were bought in Britain in the seventeenth century, particularly by the middle classes, were generally supplied from the Netherlands, where such works were extremely popular. The objects depicted here are of high status and would have been owned by the educated and wealthy.  

</p><p>Collier was a Dutch artist who specialised in still lifes and produced works for both the Dutch and the English markets. This picture is clearly intended for a British customer, since it includes manuscripts and texts written in English. The letter propped up above the tray of writing equipment is inscribed 'Mr E. Collier ¦ Painter at ¦ London' which confirms that the artist was active there during the late 1690s.  

</p><p>This is one of several still lifes by Collier to include a globe, a circular box of seals, other writing equipment and books, although the arrangement of the objects varies slightly in each <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a>, and differing documents - in some cases, in Dutch - are shown.  

</p><p>A folded <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/v/vellum" title="Glossary definition for 'Vellum'"><span>vellum</span></a> document on the velvet-covered table bears a wax seal that hangs down. A stick of partly used sealing wax projects over the edge of the cloth, near a slip of paper protruding from a closed book and bearing the Latin text 'VITA / BREVIS / ARS / LONGA.' ('Life is short but art lasts long'). This text is a reminder of the transience of human life. This is a very common theme of still-life paintings, which appear to fix a single moment in time. The partially consumed wax-stick and candle are also symbols of the impermanence of the material world and of human endeavours. The globe, turned to the Pacific Ocean which was an area of active colonial expansion, and the raised open atlas, whose title-page bears the words ' A Description of the World' can probably be read as allusions to the necessarily limited nature of humankind's attempts to understand God's world. Works of this type are known as '<a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/m/memento-mori" title="Glossary definition for 'Memento Mori'"><span>vanitas</span></a>' still lifes. 

</p><p>A date is carefully written on another letter, inscribed 'E. Collier, 1698' and tucked under the atlas. The date shown on the printed transcript of a speech delivered by William III (reigned 1689-1702) to the British Houses of Parliament is also clearly visible: Wednesday 1<sup>st</sup> February 1698. At this period, in England, the year officially ran from 25 March to 24 March. So, in reality, this speech was given on 1 February 1699; it concerned the disbanding of the army, at the end of a near-decade of an unpopular war. The painting, therefore, must date also from before 24 March 1699.

</p><p>Edward Collier, or Colyer, is thought to have been born in Breda in about 1640, and was probably trained in Haarlem. He was first recorded in Leiden in 1667, a city with a strong still-life tradition, and he continued to work in this <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/g/genres" title="Glossary definition for 'Genres'"><span>genre</span></a> for the rest of his life. His English works span the years 1693 and 1707, which is also the date of his latest known work. Collier was last recorded in Leiden on 15 January 1706 and it is not certain whether he was the 'Evert Coleyn' who was buried in Leiden in 1710. 

</p><p>
</p><p><b>Further reading</b>:

</p><p>H. Hilberry, 'Painting Illusions by Edwaert Colyer'<i>, Indianapolis Art Association Bulletin</i>, vol. 49, February 1963, pp.12-17<br/>Maarten Wurfbain, 'Edwart Collier', in Jane Shoaf Turner (ed.), <i>The Dictionary of Art</i>, London and New York 1996, vol. 7, pp.568-9

</p><p>Karen Hearn<br/>March 2001<br/></p>
Summary
2005-09-15T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
<div class="text">
<p>This is a ‘vanitas’ still life, a genre of painting originating in the Netherlands where the objects symbolise the passing of time and the inevitability of death. The Latin motto translates as, ‘life is short but art endures’. The snuffed-out candle is a literal allusion to death. The book with a description of the world, and the globe, point to earthly pursuits of knowledge and discovery, which are transient. The globe shows the Pacific Ocean, an area Europe was actively colonising at the time. This combination may allude to imperial ambitions, also ultimately futile.</p>
</div>

Online caption
2023-11-29T00:00:00
online-caption
ONLINE_CAPTION
<div class="text">
<p>
<b>Edward Collier </b>active 1662–1707</p>
<p>
<b>Still Life</b>
<br/>1699<br/>Oil on canvas<br/>762 x 635 mm<br/>Inscribed ‘Mr E. Collier | Painter at | London’ on a letter, near centre, and ‘E. Collier, 1698’ on another lower right<br/>Purchased (Grant in Aid) 1948<br/>N05856</p>
<p>
<b>Ownership history</b>
<br/>…; anonymous sale Sotheby’s, 21 July 1948 (112) where purchased on behalf of Tate. </p>
<p>
<b>References</b>
<br/>Michael Bath, <i>Speaking Pictures: English Emblem Books and Renaissance Culture</i>, London and New York 1994, pp.127–9.</p>
<p>Still-life painting never became as common in Britain as it was on the Continent. The examples that were bought in Britain in the seventeenth century, particularly by the middle classes, were generally supplied from the Netherlands, where such works were extremely popular. The objects depicted here are of high status and would have been owned by the educated and wealthy.  </p>
<p>Collier was a Dutch artist who specialised in still lifes and produced works for both the Dutch and English markets. This picture is clearly intended for a British customer, since it includes manuscripts and texts written in English. The letter propped up above the tray of writing equipment is inscribed ‘Mr E. Collier | Painter at | London’ which confirms that the artist was active there during the late 1690s.  </p>
<p>This is one of several still lifes by Collier that include a globe, a circular box of seals, other writing equipment and books. The arrangement of the objects varies slightly in each composition, and differing documents are shown, in some cases in Dutch.<a class="endnote-link" href="#endnote_1" name="endnote_back_1">1</a>
</p>
<p>A folded vellum document on the velvet-covered table bears a wax seal that hangs down. A stick of partly used sealing wax projects over the edge of the cloth, near a slip of paper protruding from a closed book and bearing the Latin text ‘VITA | BREVIS | ARS | LONGA’ (‘Life is short but art lasts long’). This text is a reminder of the transience of human life. It is a very common theme of still-life paintings, which appear to fix a single moment in time. The partially consumed wax-stick and candle are also symbols of the impermanence of the material world and of human endeavours. The globe, turned to the Pacific Ocean, which was an area of active colonial expansion, and the raised open atlas, whose title-page bears the words ‘A | Description | of the | WORLD’ can probably be read as allusions to the necessarily limited nature of humankind’s attempts to understand God’s world.<a class="endnote-link" href="#endnote_2" name="endnote_back_2">2</a> Works of this type are known as ‘vanitas’ still lifes.<a class="endnote-link" href="#endnote_3" name="endnote_back_3">3</a>
</p>
<p>A date is carefully written on another letter, inscribed ‘E. Collier, 1698’ and tucked under the atlas. The date shown on the printed transcript of a speech delivered by King William III (reigned 1689–1702) to the British Houses of Parliament is also clearly visible: ‘Wednesday the First of February.1698’. In England at this period the year officially ran from 25 March to 24 March. So, in reality, this speech was given on 1 February 1699; it concerned the disbanding of the army, at the end of a near-decade of an unpopular war.<a class="endnote-link" href="#endnote_4" name="endnote_back_4">4</a> The painting, therefore, must date also from before 24 March 1699.</p>
<p>Edward Collier, or Colyer, is thought to have been born in Breda in about 1640, and was probably trained in Haarlem. He was first recorded in Leiden in 1667, a city with a strong still-life tradition, and he continued to work in this genre for the rest of his life. His English works span the years 1693 and 1707, which is also the date of his latest known work.<a class="endnote-link" href="#endnote_5" name="endnote_back_5">5</a> Collier was last recorded in Leiden on 15 January 1706 and it is not certain whether he was the ‘Evert Coleyn’ who was buried in Leiden in 1710.<a class="endnote-link" href="#endnote_6" name="endnote_back_6">6</a>
</p>
<p>Karen Hearn<br/>June 2009</p>
<p>
<b>Notes</b>
</p>
<div class="endnotes">
<div>
<a class="endnote-number" href="#endnote_back_1" name="endnote_1">1</a><span> Examples of very similar versions of this <i>Still Life</i> with English texts include: signed and dated 1693, with Harriet Wynter Ltd, London, 1988; signed and dated 1697, Christie’s 27 October 1961 (104); signed and dated 1698 (Old Style), Christie’s 14 March 1975 (95); signed and dated 1700, Christie’s 17 November 1967 (45); dated 1702, Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, 5–6 November 1992 (2048); signed and dated 1706, formerly with Lane Fine Art, London, stock no.4119. Examples with Dutch texts include: signed and dated 1674, Christie’s 18 April 1997 (67).</span>
</div>
<div>
<a class="endnote-number" href="#endnote_back_2" name="endnote_2">2</a><span> Dr Peggy Munoz Simonds suggested that this volume might be Petau’s <i>A Geographical Description of the World Describing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America</i> although Collier has slightly modified the title; Dr Peggy Munoz Simonds, letter to Tate, 14 February 1996. Collier has also inserted a page which is headed ‘to th[e] Reader’, but is otherwise indecipherable.</span>
</div>
<div>
<a class="endnote-number" href="#endnote_back_3" name="endnote_3">3</a><span> The term comes from the Latin Bible: ‘Vanitas vanitatum, omnia vanitas’, which translates as ‘Vanity of vanity, all is vanity’ (Ecclesiastes 1:2–3).</span>
</div>
<div>
<a class="endnote-number" href="#endnote_back_4" name="endnote_4">4</a><span> The text of this was as follows: ‘My Lords and Gentlemen, I came to Pass the Bill for disbanding the Army, as soon as I understood it was ready for Me. Though in Our present Circumstances there appears great hazard in breaking such a Number of the Troops; And though I might think My self Unkindly used, that those Guards, who came over with Me to your Assistance, and have constantly attended me in all the Actions wherein I have been Engaged, should be removed from Me; yet it is My fixt Opinion, That nothing can be so fatal to Us, as that any Distrust or Jealousie should arise between Me, and my People, which I must own would have been very unexpected after what I have Undertaken, Ventured and Acted for the Restoring and Securing of their Liberties. I have thus plainly told you the only Reason which has induced Me to Pass this Bill; and now I think My Self obliged, in discharge of the Trust reposed in Me, and for My Own Justification, that no ill Consequences may lie at My Door, to tell you as plainly My Judgment, that the Nation is left too much Exposed. It is therefore incumbent upon you to take this Matter into your serious Consideration, and effectually to provide such a Strength as is necessary for the Safety of the Kingdom, and the Preservation of the Peace which GOD hath given Us.’ British Library, BO.5/2 (1–3).</span>
</div>
<div>
<a class="endnote-number" href="#endnote_back_5" name="endnote_5">5</a><span> Sold at Sotheby’s, London, 10 April 1991 (54).</span>
</div>
<div>
<a class="endnote-number" href="#endnote_back_6" name="endnote_6">6</a><span> See H. Hilberry, ‘Painting Illusions by Edwaert Colyer’<i>, Indianapolis Art Association Bulletin</i>, vol.49, February 1963, pp.12–17; and Maarten Wurfbain, ‘Edwart Collier’, in Jane Shoaf Turner (ed.), <i>The Dictionary of Art</i>, London and New York 1996, vol.7, pp.568–9.</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Catalogue entry
2013-01-25T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
birth to death book - non-specific candle death - extinguished candle document - non-specific emotional states and conditions emotions, concepts and ideas ephemerality furnishings globe government and politics heating and lighting inkstand objects political power quill pen reading, writing, printed matter scientific and measuring sealing wax society symbols and personifications table universal concepts vanity - learned documents