A lobster, a bun and a knife on a pewter plate, a roemer, a wine glass and a Delft jug with a Chinese blue and white silver mounted ewer on a draped ledge

A. Chong and W. Kloek, Still-Life Painting from the Netherlands 1550-1720, 1999, pp.295/6, pointed out that Luttichuys's still lifes from the 1650's show an affinity with those of Willem Kalf and Willem van Aelst executed in Amsterdam at about the same time. This seems especially apposite so far as the present work is concerned, as both in composition and style it recalls Kalf's Still life with a lobster from circa 1653 in the National Gallery, London (A. Chong and W. Kloek, op.cit., no.48, with ill.). Similar is the shaft of light which falls from the left, to highlight the objects on the table set against a dark background. Like Kalf, Luttichuys uses different thicknesses of paint: smooth for the dark background, more impasto for the objects on the table. This was to add to the sense of depth in the composition. As pointed out in A. Wallert (ed.), Still lifes: techniques and style, 1999, this technique was described by S. van Hoogstraten in his Groote Schouburgh.

To be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné of the artist's work to be published by Bernd Ebert.