(Zuid-Polsbroek 1764–1795 Amsterdam)
Flowers, fruit and a corn on the cob on a table ledge,
signed and dated lower left: P. T. van Brussel/1786,
oil on panel, 74 x 57 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Richard Green, 1996;
where bought by the present owner

The present picture, with its broken corn stalk, set against masterfully executed and intense floral hues is a thoughtful vanitas, showing the still life painter Theodor van Brussel at the height of his powers, towards the end of his mature period, Van Brussel’s choice of arrangements, handled with extraordinarily naturalistic detail and the composed pyramidal structure exhibit the influence of Jan van Huysum (1682-1747). Along with Jan van Os, van Brussel carried on the most thoughtful refinements of van Huysum’s style up to the end of the 18th Century. The cycle of life in the present work is completed by delicate details such as the bee and flies, coupled with an ear of corn, motifs redolent of an earlier work, signed and dated 1787 in The Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 1948.569).

Despite the relative rarity of autograph works by van Brussel, his popularity in his own time and immediately following his death is evidenced by a pair of still lifes by the artist being inventoried in the collection of King Willem II of The Netherlands. Johan Christian Roedig, who may have been the artist’s pupil, imitated several of his compositions.