Monday, September 20, 2021

Balthasar van der Ast (Flowers, Shells, Lizards)

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