Balthasar van der Ast

Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Lady"), London, Christie's, 10 July 1981, lot 7;
David Koetser, 1985.

David Koetser Gallery, 1 - 16 December 1983;
Amsterdam, Kunsthandel K. & V. Waterman, Masters of Middelburg: Exhibition in Honour of Laurens J. Bol, 1984, no. 13 (on loan);
David Koetser Gallery, 1985, no. 50, reproduced;
New Orleans 1997, cat. no. 2;
Washington, National Gallery, From Botany to Bouquets: Flowers in Northern Art, 31 January- 31 May 1999, no. 4;
Baltimore 1999, no. 2. 

Die Weltkunst, 1 December 1983, p. 3472, reproduced;
Amsterdam, Kunsthandel K. & V. Waterman, Masters of Middelburg: Exhibition in Honour of Laurens J. Bol, 1984, p. 142, no. 13, reproduced p. 143 (on loan);
New Orleans 1997, pp. 4-5, cat. no. 2, reproduced;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 4-6, cat. no. 2, reproduced;
A. Wheelock, From Botany to Bouquets: Flowers in Northern Art, exhibition catalogue, Washington 1999, cat. no. 4, reproduced, fig. 34.

The following condition report has been provided by Kirsten Younger (212-288-4370, kyounger@nyc.rr.com), an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The painting is in good condition overall. The copper support is flat and stable. The flowers are in generally beautiful state, including the purple and orange flowers, the small blue flowers and the red flame tulip. The pink roses are in good condition with a few tiny paint losses on two of them and the yellow flower at the lower left is thin at the edges. The yellow iris is in good condition with some slight transparency in the top petals. The finely painted foliage is well preserved overall with some thinness at the edges of the bouquet. The landscape and sky are in very good condition throughout with a few tiny losses above the ledge and at the top corners and two small patches of thin glaze along the edges in the clouds. The grasshopper and fly are in good condition and some of the fine details of the dragonfly are thin. There are a few small paint losses in the shell and the snail. The signature and date are in good condition and there are a few tiny spots of thinness in the glazes on the ledge. The varnish is clear and the surface gloss is even.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

In this refined and jewel-like copper, Balthasar van der Ast pays direct homage to his brother-in-law and likely teacher, Ambrosius Bosschaert. That van der Ast so specifically references the elder Bosschaert in this small scale copper is not entirely surprising, but it is an extremely rare, if not unique, example of such an overt homage. In particular, this work appears to draw from two larger compositions by Bosschaert, his Bouquet of Flowers on a Ledge formerly in the Carter collection  (fig. 1; 1619, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, acc. no. M.2003.108.7), and his Vase with Flowers (circa 1618-19, Mauritshuis, The Hague). The most striking of the similarities between van der Ast and Bosschaert’s work is the former’s employment of the expansive cloudy landscape set behind the still life. Bosschaert’s own use of this device must have made a significant impact not only van der Ast, but on the entire painting community in and around Middelburg. Van der Ast’s use of such a landscape is a clear acknowledgment of its success from the moment of its development. Furthermore, as Ingvar Bergström correctly observed, van der Ast quotes specific flowers from the Mauritshuis Bosschaert, such as the crowning yellow iris and striped tulip.²

Despite these fascinating connections between the two artists, van der Ast also makes a conscious effort to differentiate himself from his brother-in-law by including his own inventive and highly distinctive iconographic elements. Notably, he introduces a characteristic grasshopper, snail, shell and fly along the foreground ledge. Additionally, the relative softness of van der Ast’s outlines and color combinations depart from Bosschaert’s more brightly lit and crisply drawn flowers.

1. Bosschaert married van der Ast's sister, Maria, 1604. Ambrosius Bosschaert's three sons, Ambrosius the Younger (1609–1645), Johannes (ca. 1612/13-1628 or later), and Abraham (1606-1683/84) were trained by van der Ast upon the death of their father in 1621. 
2. Private correspondence to David Koetser, 1982.