This lecture explores the imposing Large Still Life with Armor traditionally attributed to Willem Kalf (1619—1693). In 2012 the painting was reattributed to Willem van Aelst (1627—1683) on the basis of technical research carried out for the exhibition Elegance and Refinement: the Still Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst (Houston and Washington, DC). In the exhibition it formed the centrepiece of the section devoted to Van Aelst’s early years in Paris. Through close microscopic examination we will uncover characteristic ways of painting in several works. We will first consider the Le Mans painting in the context of Van Aelst’s and Kalf’s oeuvres, then expand the frame of reference by comparing it to works by a wider range of French and Netherlandish artists who served the demanding Paris market for elegant still life paintings.