Ecole Hollandaise De La Fin Du XVIIIè Siècle D’après Une œuvre De Jan Davidsz De Heem

Dutch school from the end of the 18th century after a work by Jan Davidsz de Heem

Canvas 100 cm by 74 cm
Frame of 113 cm by 87.5

Our beautifully crafted painting takes up, with variations, a painting painted by Jan Davidsz de Heem (collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid under the reference P002090). On a table partially covered with a blue velvet tablecloth are placed rich objects surrounded by fruits and oysters. Among the objects of note is a pocket watch and a very beautiful silver inverted cup. The scene shows us open oysters, a half-peeled orange, an overturned cup, half-empty glasses, an open watch, all signs of a message of vanity in the riches of life.

Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606, 1683)

De Heem was born in Utrecht under the name Johannes van Antwerpen. He studied first with his father David de Heem the Elder (1570-1631), then with Balthasar van der Ast. He lived in Leiden from 1625 to 1629, where he studied in 1629 with David Bailly (1584, 1657). He settled in the south of the Netherlands and joined the guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp around 1635 and became a burgess of that city in 1637. However, he was often absent, as evidenced by the fees he had to pay for that. His remarkable talent has earned him a considerable reputation. He could hardly satisfy the demand. De Heem was considered one of the greatest painters of his time. He was well paid and a portrait of Prince William III surrounded by a cartouche of flowers and fruit was sold for 2,000 guilders, one of the highest prices ever paid for a painting during the age of Dutch gold. His sons worked with him in his studio on commissions for new paintings. He retouches their works and puts his signature on the paintings.

He remained in Antwerp until 1667, when he returned to Utrecht, where records trace his presence from 1668 to 1671. He left Utrecht in 1671 as French troops approached the city. It is not known when he finally returned to Antwerp, but his death there is recorded in the guild's books. Van Heem was married twice, first to Alette van Weede with whom he had three surviving children when he died in 1643, one of whom, Cornelis, would become a still life painter. He married a second time in 1644 to Anna Catherina Ruckers with whom he had six other children, including Jan who also became a still life painter. Besides his two sons, he had several apprentices: Michiel Verstylen, Alexander Coosemans, Thomas de Klerck, Lenaert Rougghe, Theodor Aenvanck, Andries Benedetti, Elias van den Broeck, Jacob Marrel, Hendrik Schoock and Abraham Mignon.