“Comparing Color in Vanitas Still Life Paintings: Audrey Flack’s Wheel of Fortune and Willem Claesz Heda’s Still Life with Oysters, a Roemer, a Lemon, and a Silver Bowl”

Audrey Flack’s still life Wheel of Fortune (top) contains objects often found in 17th century Dutch vanitas paintings like Willem Claesz Heda’s Still Life with Oysters, a Roemer, a Lemon, and a Silver Bowl (bottom). Objects in such paintings remind viewers that life is short and transient. Fruit and food decay; glasses are broken or tipped; and skulls imply human mortality. Describe Flack’s use of color in Wheel of Fortune and Willem Claesz Heda’s Still Life with Oysters, a Roemer, a Lemon, and a Silver Bowl. Describe and compare color values and intensities of the two paintings. What do the colors suggest about the mood of each painting?

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