Provenance :
Private collection, Maisons-Laffitte, France, 1969
Private collection.
His floral compositions, generally dense and luxuriant, are defined by their precise realism and extremely...
read moreProvenance :
Private collection, Maisons-Laffitte, France, 1969
Private collection.
His floral compositions, generally dense and luxuriant, are defined by their precise realism and extremely diverse palette. Using alternatively deep and sparkling tones, Beert successfully maintains a harmonious balance between form and color to create compositions which still fascinate viewers centuries later. An absolute masterpiece among flower paintings and one of this master's greatest works, this painting beautifully displays the delicate workmanship and subtle chromatic harmonies that are the mark of the rare and incomparable talent of Osias Beert.
After the initial appearance of the floral genre around 1600-1610, in which the bouquets were conservatively arranged in oval or fan shapes displaying each blossom in an additive and highly legible fashion, a gradual evolution took place asd from the 1620’s towards greater naturalism at the same time as greater theatricality: the bouquets become more bushy and more irregular in shape while the flowers begin to overlap in an organic fashion, thus becoming less individually distinct. Also, various containers begin to take the place of the single vase used in the early floral compositions.
This is particularly the case in this superb panel in which a simple basket, which is in fact more traditionally associated with fruit still lifes, is presented alongside the flask in oriental porcelain, a precious container undirectly linked with the idea of vanitas. The combination of the two elements may at first sight appear incongruous, but it actually refers to a formula already established by Jan "Velvet" Brueghel: there is an amusing contrast between the still frontal and additive arrangement of the flowers in the Wan-Li vase and the somewhat overloaded abundance of the flowers in the basket: here, the blossoms intertwine freely, thus displaying an aesthetic that is already much closer to the baroque.
Roses, lilies, tulips, bluebells, irises, anemones and various other blossoms form an opulent composition of varieties of flower, which in fact bloom at different times of year, an observation that underscores the ideal and unreal nature of this picture and contrasts with the highly naturalistic and innovative depiction of the tulips: bending to the left (i.e. towards the implicit source of light in this panel), their blossoms break the attractive symmetry of the bouquet.
This brings us of course to another aspect of the painting in which the delicate illusionism of the workmanship faintly conceals symbolic overtones inherent to the floral genre: the blossoms in full bloom bending under their own weight, the stray petals on the table and the fine wormholes on the leaves are all elements that suggest the ephemeral nature of worldly beauty. In addition, there is the fragile presence of the butterflies which in the traditional symbolism are associated with the Resurrection of Christ, and in a broader sense, with the eternal life that awaits all good Christians....
A similar composition, though less opulent and slightly narrower in format (panel. 59 x 99 cm.) from a private collection in Germany was displayed in Antwerp during the exhibition De Brueghel à Rubens, at the KMSK, from 19 December 1992-8 March 1993, no. 96 (ill.).
1580 – Antwerp – 1623
A remarkable figure in the early days of the development of the still life in Flanders at the beginning of the 17th century, Osias Beert remained long unrecognized: his name...
read more1580 – Antwerp – 1623
A remarkable figure in the early days of the development of the still life in Flanders at the beginning of the 17th century, Osias Beert remained long unrecognized: his name was only rescued from obscurity in 1938, at the moment when the pictorial genre was enjoying a great vogue among amateurs and collectors.
Since then, it has been discovered that he was registered as a student of the painter Andries van Baseroo from 1596 onwards and became a master in 1602. On 8 in January 1606, he married Margarita Ykens, the aunt of the painter Frans Ykens. This union produced a son, Osias Beert the Younger, baptized on 14 April 1622, who later became a still life painter of in his own right.
A member from 1615 to 1623 of the famous brotherhood De Olijftak, Osias Beert was also, as was common practice at the time, merchant trading in cork. In addition to his own son, five of his students have currently been established:
Fr. van der Borcht (1610), P. Doens (1611), his nephew Frans Ykens (1615), P. Pontius, the famous engraver (1616) and J. Willemsen (1618).
Painstakingly constructing his harmonious compositions in which meticulous attention to detail is combined with a precise arrangement of objects with forms that are detached from each other in a highly legible way, Osias Beert generally juxtaposes food, dishes and precious curios on the inclined surface of a table, positioning them within various planes in space to increase their legibility. The still archaic frontal and distributive presentation, the highly attentive execution with its virtuoso realism drawn from the Flemish tradition, the dark abstract grounds and the bright, enamel-like colors are all the recurrent characteristics of an œuvre that immediately positions Osias Beert at the very forefront of the first generation of Flemish painters to specialize in the depiction of banketjes.
