Grapes on the vine, whitecurrants, blackberries, cherries and a walnut in a porcelain bowl with peaches, grapes and a walnut on a wooden table ledge with a large white butterfly

Frans Ykens was apprenticed to his uncle, Osaias Beert I, in 1613-14 before becoming a member of the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke in 1630. His oeuvre is diverse, consisting of small-scale floral still lifes, large figural compositions and floral wreaths with religious medallions. When last sold in these Rooms, the present picture was accompanied by a certificate from Walther Bernt in which he pointed to the close relationship between this and the composition now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (inv. no. 910A). In stylistic terms, both paintings reveal the debt owed to the small-scale, fruit still lifes of Daniel Seghers, Ykens's Antwerp contemporary.