Basket of Flowers
Balthasar van der Ast·c. 1622
Historical Context
This companion basket of flowers by Van der Ast from around 1622 pairs with the fruit basket to create a comprehensive display of natural abundance. Van der Ast's flower pieces bridge the precise botanical approach of his mentor Bosschaert with a somewhat looser, more naturalistic arrangement. The combination of flowers from different seasons in a single bouquet — a convention in Dutch flower painting — creates an idealized compilation that transcends temporal reality.
Technical Analysis
Van der Ast renders each bloom with careful attention to botanical accuracy, using the smooth panel surface to achieve fine detail. The luminous colors against the neutral background and the precisely observed play of light on petals demonstrate his inheritance of the Bosschaert tradition of meticulous flower painting.
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 1992.51.1]); Levij Pakker.[2] Mrs. Beaumont, England; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 19 March 1906, no. 17 [with NGA 1992.51.1]); (Collings).[3] (Fritz Gerstel Gallery, Berlin); (his sale, Kunstsalon Keller & Reiner, Berlin, 21-22 January 1908, no. 36 [with NGA 1992.51.1]). (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 1992.51.1]); (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.
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