(Arnemuiden 1609–1645 Utrecht)
Apples, pears, peaches and walnuts on a pewter plate with fruit, a roemer, a melon, chestnuts and a grasshopper on a stone ledge in a niche,
signed lower right: A. Bosschaert. fecit.,
oil on panel, 45.5 x 55.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Collection of Gretha Elias-Prins (1888–1981), Eindhoven;
with Hans Max Cramer, The Hague, 1982–1983;
Collection of Frits Markus (1909–1996) and his wife Marie Markus (1914–2005), New York;
their sale, Christie’s, New York, 17 October 2006, lot 19;
Private collection, Switzerland;
sale, Koller, Zurich, 27 March 2009, lot 3036;
Private collection, Switzerland.

Literature:
J.L. Bol, The Bosschaert Dynasty. Painters of flowers and fruit, Leigh-on-Sea 1960, p. 96., no. 23;
C. Grimm, Stilleben: Die niederländischen und deutschen Meister, Stuttgart/Zürich 1988, pp. 110, 111, figs. 55 and 56;
E. Gemar-Koeltzsch, Holländische Stillebenmaler im 17. Jahrhundert, Lingen 1995, vol. 2, p. 175, no. 52/11, illustrated

The present painting is listed in the RKD database under no. 0000279089 (as Ambrosius Bosschaert II).

The present painting is a fine example that showcases the artists talent and technical ability in rendering a selection of different objects of varying textures and profiles. Particularly noteworthy is the depiction of the highly polished pewter plate and the filled Roemer glass as it reflects the incoming light coming through a studio window – a motive that was frequently used amongst Bosschaert’s contemporaries. Yet the delicate scene is tainted by signs of decay, notably the spots on the apples and pears that have already started to attract flies. In addition, the viewer’s attention is drawn to the presence of a large grasshopper, at the front of the stone ledge, which traditionally represents the passing of time. For the trained eye, these assembled motifs symbolise the theme of mortality and the fragility of life.

Bosschaert the Younger, came from a family of still-life painters, and was taught in the profession by his father Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621). Together with his younger brothers Johannes and Abraham, Ambrosius specialised in flowers and fruit scenes, a sub-genre in which their father excelled. It was in the city of Utrecht from which this productive family business flourished, alongside another key exponent of Dutch still-life art, Balthasar van der Ast (1593–1657), who was married to a sister of Bosschaert the Elder and is thought to have educated the three young Bosschaerts.

In 1993 the German band Einstürzende Neubauten used the composition of the present painting for the cover of their album Tabula Rasa.