Provenance: private collection
Typical of the style of Osias Beert, the conception of this panel is both simple and balanced. A limited number of elements clearly and precisely stand out...
read moreProvenance: private collection
Typical of the style of Osias Beert, the conception of this panel is both simple and balanced. A limited number of elements clearly and precisely stand out against a plain background devoid of any decorative excess. The still life is presented from the front while the objects are distributed simply on the tilted plane of a wooden table according to the pictorial tradition of the end of the 16th century.
A great colourist, Beert the Younger glorifies the lively, rich tones of the painting. The balance between form and colour, as well as the harmonious alternation between empty and full are particularly successful. An essentially visual artist, Osias Beert observes reality with sustained attention and renders it with the precision of an engraver. He takes particular care in the way he paints light reflecting on the glasses. He succeeds in giving these objects a phosphorescent glow, as though they were suddenly appearing from the shadows. With an acute sense of volume, our artist endeavours to fully reproduce the materiality of the food. His warm and vibrant colours incite the viewer to join in the feast.
The multiple shapes and materials bear witness to his taste for precious objects. He thus associates rich and varied food with pewter dishes, china bowls and sumptuous glasses worked with pincers by Venetian craftsmen established in Antwerp. Their shapes, decoration and material seek the artist’s attention, providing him with the opportunity to reveal his technical skills.
The elaborate arrangement of the composition and the extremely refined rendering of the materials make this a truly exceptional piece of work.
1622 - Antwerp - circa 1678
The son of Osias Beert the Elder, our Osias Beert, was admitted at the Guild of St Luke of Antwerp in 1645. He followed in the steps of his father. His still lifes present recurring fresh and cooked food as well as table ware on a tilted table-top. The frontal, serialised featuring of the different items enables painter and viewer alike to identify details all the better as each coloured element stands out against a dark, neutral background. Although somewhat less perfect than his father, Osias Beert the Younger was a very skilful artist, ranking high among the mid-XVIIth Century still life painters. He belonged, together with Jacob van Es and Frans Ykens, to the second generation of the so-called masters of the archaic still lifes.
