Still Life With Flowers, Fruit, Insects And A Squirrel. Jan Baptist Van Fornenburgh 1585-1650

Still Life with Flowers, Fruit, Insects, and a Squirrel. By Jan Baptist Van Fornenburgh (1585-1650)

17th century, circa 1620

Oil on oak panel (three boards), unlined

Signed with the monogram lower right: IB. F

Presented in an ebony veneer frame with a wide molding.

Overall dimensions: 82 x 104 cm. Panel alone: ​​60 x 81 cm

The intensification of agriculture since the beginning of the 16th century was accompanied by a promotion of botanical sciences, whose discoveries found their way into literature, which also contained advice for improving fruit cultivation.
Painters not only depict vegetables piled in baskets, but also bowls literally swollen under the profusion of all kinds of fruit. Just as today, large fruits with rich, juicy pulp, obtained through grafting and special cultivation, were already appreciated at that time.
But also freshly picked fruits such as grapes, apples, and quinces.
And flowers, not to mention the rare and famous tulips.

This beautiful still life is characteristic of the opulent compositions very fashionable in 17th-century Flanders, carefully yet simply arranged and often archaic in their layering.
The painter masterfully employs rich, creamy materials and delicate glazes, as well as a vibrant palette of brilliant, consistently well-harmonized tones. Indeed, the play of subtle nuances, such as the vermillion red of the lobster, the golden yellow of the lemon, and the purple of the curtain falling over the stone entablature, perfectly illustrate this discreet and refined chromatic balance.

The background is simple, with overhead light illuminating the entire composition and licking part of the stone wall.
Added to this are a squirrel and a wagtail, more insects such as flies, ants, and a butterfly (a Red Admiral); two lobsters, raw and cooked, and finally a lizard (rather unusual on a table).

Our exceptionally well-preserved painting perfectly illustrates the still lifes of Jan Baptist van Fornenburgh.

Born in Antwerp in 1585, Jan Baptist van Fornenburgh died in The Hague in 1650. He became a member of the Hague painters' guild in 1629, after he had already been active for about twenty years. About twenty paintings are now definitively attributed to him.
According to the RKD, he signed his works with the monogram "IBVF" or "IBF," sometimes simply "IB."
The career of this painter of flowers and fruits, who clearly carefully observed the works of Baltasar van der Ast and Ambrosius Bosschaert, like them readily populating his compositions with lizards and small insects, remains to be discovered and documented...

Very good condition. Sold with invoice and expert certificate.

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