Willem Heda
(Claesz.)
(b Haarlem, 1594; d Haarlem, 1680).
Dutch painter. He was a still-life painter, who, like
Pieter Claesz., is noted for his monochrome
breakfast-pieces, which are, however, more opulent than
those of Claesz. Heda’s earliest dated work is a
Vanitas (1621; The Hague, Mus. Bredius), which shows
a still-life from a high viewpoint, composed of various
objects bearing vanitas associations (e.g. a bowl
of glowing embers, smoker’s requisites, an overturned
glass and a skull); the colouring is in brownish-grey
tones and represents one of the earliest examples of a
Dutch monochrome still-life (‘monochrome’ refers to the
range of tones, rather than of colours). Even in this
early work Heda’s skill at painting textures is evident.
A more balanced composition is achieved in another
Still-life (1629; The Hague, Mauritshuis) and in the
Breakfast Table (1631; Dresden, Gemaldegal. Alte
Meister), in both of which the objects, set against a
neutral background, are linked by a strong diagonal. The
Mauritshuis still-life also gives an early indication of
Heda’s interest in painting the effects of light. In
1631 he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St Luke
(of which he served as deacon on several occasions after
1637).
