A Still-life with Fruit and Lobster
About this artwork
During the seventeenth century, still life became a category of painting in itself, and de Heem was one of the greatest masters of the new genre. Here, he presents the viewer with an inviting feast of red cooked lobsters, ripe peaches and plums, and sumptuous bunches of grapes. These Mediterranean fruits would have been imported to the Netherlands at great cost. A painting such as this would have fascinated seventeenth-century viewers, not only for the luxuriousness of the objects on display, but for the skill with which they were painted. Although the lavish still life was clearly attractive in its own right, it was probably also understood as a warning against temptation and excessive luxury.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1605/6 - 1683/4) Dutch
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title:A Still-life with Fruit and Lobster
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date created:Dated 1650
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materials:Oil on panel
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measurements:33.70 x 41.70 cm; Framed: 46.80 x 56.60 x 4.80 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Bequest of Mrs Nisbet Hamilton Ogilvy of Biel 1921
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accession number:NG 1505
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Jan Davidsz. de Heem
Jan Davidsz. de Heem
De Heem enjoyed a long and productive career working in various parts of the Dutch Republic (United Provinces), but he was mostly based in Antwerp and his native Utrecht. He is famous for his ability to paint different objects with breathtaking accuracy and naturalism. De Heem specialised in still...