(Frankenthal 1613/14–1681 Frankfurt am Main)
A vanitas floral still life,
oil on canvas, 60 x 46 cm, framed

Jacob Marrel belongs to the second generation of still life painters active in Frankfurt and the Lower Main region in the 17th century. In 1627, at the age of thirteen, he started his training under the still life painter Georg Flegel in Frankfurt. According to Joachim von Sandrart, he soon outdid his master. In 1630 he travelled to Utrecht, an important centre for the training of young artists in the first half of the 17th century. He initially followed the models of floral and still life paintings by Ambrosius Bosschaert and Jan Davidsz. de Heem. After 1650 he returned to Frankfurt and opened a workshop, where Abraham Mignon would be one of his pupils. After receiving citizenship in 1651, he married the widow of Matthäus Merian that same year, thus becoming the stepfather of the floral still life painter, Maria Sibylla Merian. The present painting with tulips, lilies and other flowers in a relief bronze vase with a skull as a vanitas motif belongs to the artist’s late period. Marrel’s floral still lifes from the period of 1660/65 display magnificent colours derived from a precise observation of nature. This feature made his works sought-after collectables on the international art market already during the artist’s lifetime.