Stilleven met een kan, bord en kelk 1834 - 1906

This is Maria Vos' pencil drawing, "Still Life with a Jug, Plate and Chalice," now housed in the Rijksmuseum. It presents vessels that have resonated through time and culture: the chalice, the jug, the plate, all arranged on a single horizontal plane. These aren't merely objects; they are vessels of meaning. A chalice, of course, evokes the Holy Grail, symbolising a quest for spiritual truth, purity, and redemption. Think about the shared symbolic space of a chalice in medieval tapestries and religious iconography. It reappears across centuries, not as a static emblem, but as a dynamic motif. In ancient pagan rites, similar vessels were filled with wine or water, symbolising fertility and abundance, demonstrating how the chalice’s meaning evolved with changing cultural landscapes. These forms engage us on a primal level, stirring deep-seated memories. Vos' drawing offers a quiet, introspective meditation on the enduring power of symbols, inviting us to reflect on the cyclical nature of meaning.