Georg Bernard Verbeeck a jeho Vanitas ze šternberské sbírky na zámku v Častolovicích

Abstract

The article deals with the cabinet picture Vanitas from the Sternberg collection, exhibited at the château in Častolovice in eastern Bohemia. This still life on copper plate was painted by Georg Bernard Verbeeck (†1673), a portraitist from the German town of Emmerich near the Dutch border. He moved to Prague with his nephew Jodokus Justus (1646–1700) and worked for the Lobkowitz family in Roudnice nad Labem and the Kolowrat family in Rychnov nad Kněžnou. The only painting attributed to Verbeeck that is not a portrait is an exploratory still life that has survived in relatively good condition. The work is signed and partially dated. The painting was in the possession of the Sternbergs at least from the time of Adolf Wratislaw of Sternberg (1627?–1703) and in the family asset inventories in Zásmuky and Častolovice it was designated Ein Todtenkopf The painting demonstrates exceptional realism and attention to detail. It combines many artistic symbols typical of the 17th century, expressing the themes of the finiteness of life and profligacy. This study, which is an addendum to our knowledge of the work of the almost unknown author of this painting, may help art historians in the future in the attribution of other paintings by Verbeeck, or more exactly, his circle.