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Basket of Fruits
Balthasar van der Ast·c. 1622
Historical Context
Balthasar van der Ast painted this basket of fruits around 1622, contributing to the Dutch still-life tradition he inherited from his brother-in-law Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder. Van der Ast was the leading still-life painter in Utrecht, known for compositions that combined fruits, flowers, and shells with meticulous botanical accuracy. His works often include insects and small creatures that add both naturalistic interest and symbolic meaning related to decay and transience.
Technical Analysis
The oil on panel demonstrates Van der Ast's precise, jewel-like technique with each fruit rendered with botanical accuracy and subtle attention to light effects on varied surfaces. The insects and small details scattered throughout the composition reward close inspection and demonstrate his extraordinary observational skill.
Provenance
Probably Princess Amalia van Solms [1602-1675], The Hague, by 1632.[1] (sale, Philippus van der Schley, Amsterdam, 16 February 1802 and days following, 1st day, no. 55 [with NGA 1992.51.2]); Levij Pakker.[2] Mrs. Beaumont, England; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 19 March 1906, no. 17 [with NGA 1992.51.2]); (Collings).[3] (Fritz Gerstel Gallery, Berlin); (his sale, Kunstsalon Keller & Reiner, Berlin, 21-22 January 1908, no. 36 [with NGA 1992.51.2]). (Kunsthandel Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam), c. 1938; sold to Dr. Hans Wetzlar, Amsterdam, by 1952;[4] (his sale, Sotheby Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 9 June 1977, no. 5 [with NGA 1992.51.2]); (John Mitchell & Son, London); sold November 1977 to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, Virginia; gift 1992 to NGA. [1] According to an inventory of the collection of the Prince of Orange and his wife Amalia van Solms made in August 1632. [2] This sale was kindly brought to the attention of Arthur Wheelock, Jr., by Sam Segal; see his letter of 12 February 2009 in NGA curatorial files. The buyer is noted in the sale contents section of the Getty Provenance Index Databases, J. Paul Getty Trust (sale catalog N-23). [3] The Mellon collection records (copy in NGA curatorial files) indicate that the seller at the 1906 sale was a "private English collection (? Mrs. Beaumont)." This information was kindly confirmed, and the buyer's name provided, by Lynda McLeod, Librarian, Christie's Archives, London, in her e-mail of 28 March 2013, in NGA curatorial files. [4] According to information provided to Paul Mellon at the time of his acquisition (see NGA curatorial files). The painting was published in M.J. Friedländer's 1952 catalogue of the Wetzlar Collection, no. 3.
