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Lot Essay
The artist belonged to the Bosschaert dynasty of painters who, through his brother-in-law, Ambrosius Bosschaert I, introduced the Flemish tradition of still life painting into Dutch art after the latter's arrival in Middelburg with his family in circa 1587 as a refugee from religious persecution. Van der Ast was twenty years younger than Bosschaert (who married his sister in 1604) and, on the death of his own father in 1609, entered his sister and brother-in-law's household, becoming the latter's pupil until he was twenty-one.
During his career, Van der Ast developed Bosschaert's themes, exploiting the interest of his Dutch patrons in rare and exotic plants, fruits, birds and other objects. Perhaps his most important contributions to the genre were his introduction of shells as elements in his still lifes (as in the present picture), and his depictions of of individual flowers shown in a vase (for example the Tulip in a Glass Vase exhibited, Amsterdam, Waterman Gallery, Masters of Middelburg, 1984, no. 15) or lying on a board or table (for example the Tulip and Forget-me-not, in the same exhibition, no. 16). To a degree, his innovations anticipated the work of artists such as Jan van Kessel and Adriaen Coorte (for whom, see lot 559).
The present work is a fragment (from the lower left of the picture) of a larger composition depicting A basket of fruit with flowers, seashells and insects arranged on a ledge, dated 1626, sold, Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 6 May 1996, lot 5. The lower right part of that painting, depicting Carnations, a tulip, a grasshopper and a lizard on a ledge, was sold in these Rooms, 16 April 1999, lot 18.
The shells depicted are, from left to right: an Episcopal Miter (mitra mitra; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Indo-Pacific, a West Indian Top (cittarium pica; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Caribbean, a Marbled Cone (conus marmoreus; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Indo-Pacific, an Orange Spider Conch (lambis crocata; Link, 1807) from the Indo-West Pacific and a Great Green Turban (turbo marmoratus; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Indo-Pacific. Given the habitat of all five species, one might presume that the particular examples depicted here originated more specifically from the Dutch East Indies.
During his career, Van der Ast developed Bosschaert's themes, exploiting the interest of his Dutch patrons in rare and exotic plants, fruits, birds and other objects. Perhaps his most important contributions to the genre were his introduction of shells as elements in his still lifes (as in the present picture), and his depictions of of individual flowers shown in a vase (for example the Tulip in a Glass Vase exhibited, Amsterdam, Waterman Gallery, Masters of Middelburg, 1984, no. 15) or lying on a board or table (for example the Tulip and Forget-me-not, in the same exhibition, no. 16). To a degree, his innovations anticipated the work of artists such as Jan van Kessel and Adriaen Coorte (for whom, see lot 559).
The present work is a fragment (from the lower left of the picture) of a larger composition depicting A basket of fruit with flowers, seashells and insects arranged on a ledge, dated 1626, sold, Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 6 May 1996, lot 5. The lower right part of that painting, depicting Carnations, a tulip, a grasshopper and a lizard on a ledge, was sold in these Rooms, 16 April 1999, lot 18.
The shells depicted are, from left to right: an Episcopal Miter (mitra mitra; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Indo-Pacific, a West Indian Top (cittarium pica; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Caribbean, a Marbled Cone (conus marmoreus; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Indo-Pacific, an Orange Spider Conch (lambis crocata; Link, 1807) from the Indo-West Pacific and a Great Green Turban (turbo marmoratus; Linnaeus, 1758) from the Indo-Pacific. Given the habitat of all five species, one might presume that the particular examples depicted here originated more specifically from the Dutch East Indies.