Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill

Still Life with a Skull and a Writing Quill depicts a human skull resting on an aged book, with a white feather quill across its pages, a glass lying on its side to the right, and a terracotta ceramic dish on a pedestal to the left, all arranged on a wooden table against a dark background. The composition uses a diagonal grouping and strong chiaroscuro, with warm ochre, brown, and ivory tones that model the forms and create tactile surfaces. The work embodies a Dutch Golden Age vanitas still life, presenting realistic detail and moral symbolism typical of Pieter Claesz.