samedi 25 septembre 2010

Balthasar van der Ast




Balthasar van der Ast

(1593/94-1657) Balthasar van der Ast was born in Middelburg. There he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law, Ambrosius Bosschaert. Van der Ast, his brother-in-law and three nephews have become known as the Bosschaert dynasty, a group of painters famous for their still lifes. In 1615, Van der Ast and the Bosschaert family moved to Bergen op Zoom, and a few years later to Utrecht. In 1632 he settled in Delft, where he married. Van der Ast specialised in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes. He worked together with Roelant Savery and taught Jan Davidsz. de Heem and the sons of Ambrosius Bosschaert.





A Vase of Flowers
A530; oil on panel; 30 x 24 cm.
Signed and dated: B. vander.ast fe./.i.6.2.3..
Prov: Miss Hill, Leamington Spa.
Bequeathed by Daisy Linda Ward, 1939; WA1940.2.6.
Van der Ast's prolific output ranges from small coppers to large, complex compositions. He was trained by Ambrosius Bosschaert and developed his teacher's compositions with added sea-shells, fruit and other accessories. This panel from the 1620s combines a central porcelain flask of flowers in the manner of Bosschaert with beetles and a spider which may have been inspired by of the work of Roelant Savery.





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