A porcelain plate with red and green grapes, a pewter plate with a knife, nuts, a pear and a glass of wine on a table top

Isaac Soreau likely began his career in his father Daniel Soreau’s workshop and specialized in painting table-top still lifes. Daniel was a successful wool-merchant, controlling trade in Hesse and Wetterau and is thought to have turned to painting at an advanced age. Although no paintings by Daniel are extant, his pupils are documented, including his twin sons, Isaac and Peter, and Sebastian Stoskopff, who took over his studio and possibly the education of his sons. The present painting first appeared on the art market in 1939, with an attribution to Stoskopff, with whose work Isaac’s shares striking similarities (loc. cit.). Both artists set their still lifes on table-tops against a dark background, with the objects presented bathed in uniform light, showcasing the meticulous rendering of textures.

This painting was first correctly recognized as the work of Soreau by Claus Grimm in 1984 (loc. cit.) and shares many similarities with his Still life with a dish of strawberries, now in the Cincinnati Art Museum (fig. 1, inv. no. 1960.496), dated to the early 1630s. Both works present fruits and nuts spread across a table-top, which appears to slant forward, granting the viewer a better vantage point. In both works special care is paid to the description of the porcelain and table-wear, including similar wine glasses. In the present painting, the handle of the inlaid knife terminates in a horseshoe, while in the Cincinnati picture a spoon terminates in a hoof.