Bubble-blowing Girl with a Vanitas Still Life 1680 - 1775

Adriaen van der Werff's "Bubble-blowing Girl with a Vanitas Still Life" (1680-1775) depicts a young girl blowing a soap bubble, a symbol of the fleeting nature of life. The painting, currently housed in the Rijksmuseum, exemplifies the vanitas genre through its inclusion of a skull and other objects representing mortality, contrasting with the girl’s youthful innocence. The painting is characterized by its meticulous detail and soft, luminous colors typical of van der Werff's style. The inclusion of a violin and books adds to the theme of the transience of earthly pleasures.