Balthasar van der Ast Basket of Flowers before 1657 oil on panel private collection |
Balthasar van der Ast Floral Still Life with Shells 1622 oil on copper Saint Louis Art Museum |
Balthasar van der Ast Still Life of Fruit on a Kraak Porcelain Dish 1617 oil on panel Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire |
Balthasar van der Ast Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Shells ca. 1640 oil on panel Musée de la Chartreuse de Douai |
Balthasar van der Ast Basket of Flowers, Seashells, Lizard, Fruit and Insects before 1657 oil on panel private collection |
Balthasar van der Ast Still Life of Flowers, Fruit, Shells, Lizard and Insects ca. 1629 oil on panel Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama |
Balthasar van der Ast Basket of Flowers 1622 oil on panel National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
Balthasar van der Ast Still Life with Fruit, Flowers, Seashells and Insects 1620-21 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Balthasar van der Ast Flower Still Life with Shells and Insects 1628 oil on panel Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
Balthasar van der Ast Still Life with Seashells, Fruit and Butterfly ca. 1640 oil on panel Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam |
Balthasar van der Ast Vase of Flowers with Seashells and Lizard ca. 1625-30 oil on panel Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
Balthasar van der Ast Vase of Flowers with Seashells and Insects (detail) ca. 1630 oil on panel National Gallery, London |
Balthasar van der Ast Vase of Flowers with Seashells and Insects (detail) ca. 1630 oil on panel National Gallery, London |
Balthasar van der Ast Flowers and Insects before 1657 oil on copper Museum Prinsenhof, Delft |
Balthasar van der Ast Still Life with Seashells, Fruit and Insects ca. 1630-50 oil on panel Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona |
"Balthasar van der Ast (1593/94-1657) was born in Middelburg. He was orphaned when his father, Hans, a wealthy widower, died in 1609. Balthasar then may have lived with his older sister Maria and her husband, the still-life painter Ambrosius Bosschaert, whose work had an impact on the precise technique and symmetrical compositions of Van der Ast's early paintings. . . . In 1619 he joined the Saint Luke's Guild in Utrecht. After this, Van der Ast began to paint in a softer, more atmospheric manner and to animate his still lifes with small animals and insects. In 1632 he moved to Delft."
– from biographical notes at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC