This painting by Pieter Claesz is a still life composition, a vanitas meaning to reflect the viewers own mortality. Like in most of his paintings Claesz used a monochrome pallet, this helps convey the message without the distraction of colour. The dominant colour in the painting is brown, it evokes feelings of sadness and isolation. The dark tones make the painting quite dramatic and depressing. There’s not much negative space making the painting claustrophobic which in a sense represents the urgency to live life as it is only brief. On the left we can see a gap toothed skull and a bone, this is a Memento Mori (“Remember that you will die”); a reminder of the certainty of death. Right behind, on the left hand side, there is an hourglass, a symbol of fleeting human existence. The empty overturn wine glass symbolises the emptiness of wealth and material possessions. The reflection in the glass calls to the idea of self reflection. Underneath we can see some sheet music which usually represents the brevity of indulgence in the senses as a luxury.