.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Justly characterized by the great connoisseur Laurens Bol in his standard work on the Bosschaert dynasty as 'a child prodigy',Johannes Bosschaert was by far the most talented son and pupil of Ambrosius the Elder and he trained with him until his death in 1621. 1 Only two years later, when he must have been around fourteen years old, Johannes joined the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem where he remained active until 1628, before setting in Dordrecht. He passed away the same year.2
This previously unknown work is a new addition to Johannes Bosschaert's small and exquisite oeuvre, which now, with the inclusion of the present painting, numbers twenty-two paintings. Fully signed and dated 1626, the intimate composition offers an index of Bosschaert's skills and shows the artist on the apex of his creative powers. Two other dated still lifes of 1626, a flower piece and a fruit still life, are preserved in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and the Kröller-Möller in Otterlo, respectively.
Bosschaert elaborates on a much-favoured theme in early 17th Century still life painting, a basket of fruit on a wooden tabletop, and achieves an unrivalled degree of refinement in his subtle arrangement. The artist deliberately cropped the compact composition to allow the rich and juicy fruit to dominate the scene evoking a sense of abundance. The wicker basket is filled with red and white grapes, an apple, a peach and apricots. The basket is overflowing and Bosschaert supplemented the carefully assembled assortment of fruits with a sprig of plums and a large apple in the foreground. With obvious joy the artist enlivened his still life with gleaming dewdrops and several insects as well as other small creatures. A Cabbage White is perched atop a peach leave and a dragonfly has landed near the edge of the ledge. An amusing detail is the lizard attempting to climb the big apple on the right.
___________________________________________________________
1 See: L.J. Bol, The Bosschaert Dynasty. Painters of Flowers and Fruit, Leigh-on-Sea 1960, p. 40-42.
2 For a more recent account of Bosschaert's life see: A. van der Willigen & F. G. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-life Painters Working in Oils 1525 - 1725 Leiden 2003, p. 46.
This previously unknown work is a new addition to Johannes Bosschaert's small and exquisite oeuvre, which now, with the inclusion of the present painting, numbers twenty-two paintings. Fully signed and dated 1626, the intimate composition offers an index of Bosschaert's skills and shows the artist on the apex of his creative powers. Two other dated still lifes of 1626, a flower piece and a fruit still life, are preserved in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and the Kröller-Möller in Otterlo, respectively.
Bosschaert elaborates on a much-favoured theme in early 17th Century still life painting, a basket of fruit on a wooden tabletop, and achieves an unrivalled degree of refinement in his subtle arrangement. The artist deliberately cropped the compact composition to allow the rich and juicy fruit to dominate the scene evoking a sense of abundance. The wicker basket is filled with red and white grapes, an apple, a peach and apricots. The basket is overflowing and Bosschaert supplemented the carefully assembled assortment of fruits with a sprig of plums and a large apple in the foreground. With obvious joy the artist enlivened his still life with gleaming dewdrops and several insects as well as other small creatures. A Cabbage White is perched atop a peach leave and a dragonfly has landed near the edge of the ledge. An amusing detail is the lizard attempting to climb the big apple on the right.
___________________________________________________________