Every now and again, when working with my basketsful of stale bread, I would come across a special piece and put it aside. In contrast to the far less appetising pile of bread, the chosen piece became well-nigh exclusive.
It was immediately obvious that I could make small, three-dimensional still lifes from them. I especially like the ones by the old Dutch Masters. Apart from the cloth base, there are minute references to popular subjects of that time: insects, lemons, drinking vessels, flowers…
Nevertheless, a piece of stale bread remains a piece of stale bread, illustrating much more dramatically the impermanence which is almost forgotten at times with the old still lifes.