A man sits calm and focused, surrounded by the detritus of contemporary 17th century life, an almost overwhelming collection of luxuries and non-essentials.  All the while time ticks away, the arrow of temporal attachment moving ever forward.  These goods are beautiful, fine and culturally enriching but mortality is always lurking just nearby.  This thought provoking work is what is termed a “Vanitas” painting, one that reminds the viewer of the fleetingness of existence and that the finest of objects are a temporary salve to the inevitable.  These types of paintings were very popular in the early Dutch nation as the Calvinistic mind set was one of austere beliefs and moral virtues. If we examine the painting we see objects that hint against giving into to the accumulation of vanity objects.  The most obvious item is the grinning skull that sits at the upper right corner overlooking all of the assemblage including the man himself. The way in which the figure is placed looking to the left with his back to the skull and his body language is in the fashion of disregard for the truth human life. Whether this is out of fear or ignorance is unknown. The globe beneath the skull suggests a continuous cycle of night and day, birth and death, a constant spinning. The figure holds a sketch of a young woman in his right hand, and a paint palette in his left.  This suggests an intention to paint her portrait and thus ensure her a form of immortality and there is the subtle feeling of devotion toward her. The wine glass, half full or half empty hints at time past or yet to unfold sits prominently in the front of the table.  The musical instruments placed around the work also tell a unique tale.  There are two wind instruments that stand out and appear to suggest the breath of life that in itself is crucial but fleeting.  The violin sits silently but the sounds it can make by the vibrating strings could be construed as making that of the sound of a human heartbeat. An open page on both the book and the musical score is evocative of times turning pages, each day is a fresh new page to be explored but there is no getting away from the fact that the book has an ending to it.  The man’s face shows no concern for the fleetingness around him; he seems intent on the physicality of reality rather than on its essential meaninglessness.  Edward Colliers was a Dutch painter famous for his vanitas paintings as well as trompe l’oeil which is the usage of painting to create the illusion of three dimensionality where there is none.  This vanitas is an important work even today as we seem to have disconnected with the reality of death and decay that pervades all things. This is not meant to be morbid or depressing but rather a gentle reminder that the important things in life are not objects and acquisitions but rather the savouring of each moment and those that dwell in it.