oil on panel
42 x 30.8 cm (16 1/2 x 12 in.)
signed and inscribed lower right



LOT NOTES
There is a long tradition of still life painting in Flanders and the Netherlands. The popular focus and presentation changed with the decades throughout the seventeenth century, but some elements remained and can be seen in the northern still lifes through the ages. In a move that differentiates the Dutch still lifes from their Italian counterparts, the artist chose to include blemishes on the fruits, pest-ravaged leaves, and insects amid the realistically painted luscious fruit, spilling over beyond the picture frame. Symbols of vanitas, the depiction of decay and its agents, were meant to remind the viewer to enjoy the bounty of life while remembering its transience.