Nature morte, Pichet et Oignons 1890

Meijer de Haan captured "Still Life, Pitcher, and Onions" with oil on canvas, a humble yet potent arrangement. Here, onions, pitchers, and earthenware converge, evoking a sense of domesticity and the elemental. The onion, so central, holds layers of meaning. Across cultures, it signifies cycles of life, hidden depths, and even resilience, as seen in ancient Egyptian burial rites. Here, de Haan presents them not merely as objects but as symbols of sustenance and underlying complexities. The ceramic pitchers echo ancient vessels, repositories of nourishment and life force, reappearing across millennia, from Minoan frescoes to Dutch still lifes. The arrangement itself conveys a deeper emotional narrative, a humble, self-contained world. De Haan invites us to peel back the layers, much like the onion itself, to discover the profound within the ordinary.