Extraordinary Talent: Jan Davidsz. de Heem's Genre Elevating Still Life

A scene of abundance and beauty, this banquet piece by Jan Davids de Heem represents the apogee of Dutch and Flemish still life painting. A masterwork so beautifully preserved we can relish every tiny detail. The range of contrasting textures depicted showcases the artist's extraordinary talent. The painting is both a celebration of earthly wealth and a reminder of the fleeting nature of life itself and the vanity of worldly pursuits. On closer inspection some of the fruit has begun to overripen and the composition is teeming with insect life. Both a symbol of the fragility of nature and the potential of spiritual rebirth. Born in the Northern Netherlands in the same year as Rembrandt, de Heem was steeped in the exquisitely detailed art of Ambrosius Boschart and Balthasar van der Ast. By the 1640s, his most celebrated decade, de Heem was working in Antwerp. The spire of the city's cathedral can be glimpsed through the window reflected in the glass. The larger scale and more theatrical composition speak to the influence of Rubens and Fran Snyders. By marrying the detail of the North with the flamboyance of the South, de Heem elevated the still life genre. His pride in this work is reflected in a self-portrait hidden in the canvas, looking back at the viewer from the gleaming surface.