Balthasar van der Ast

Anonymous Sale ("The Property of a Foreign Deceased Estate"), London, Sotheby's,  28 March 1979, lot 17;
Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Trust"), London, Christie's , 7 July 1989, lot 51;
There purchased by the present collector.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting seems to be in lovely condition. The large panel on which it is painted is un-reinforced on the reverse and while it seems to be made of two pieces of oak joined horizontally, this join, if indeed there is one, is not visible to the naked eye on the front or on the reverse of the panel. The paint layer seems to have been recently restored and apart from some attention to the varnish around the edges, the picture should be hung as is. Under ultraviolet light there are no visible retouches except in the background on the right but it is fairly likely that beneath this current varnish there are a few other retouches. Nonetheless, from a close visual examination it seems that apart from some expected slight thinness to the grey background and possible retouches attending to this, that there are no other restorations of note. The painting is clearly in wonderful condition.
"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."

Daniëlle Lokin will publish this painting in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the works of van der Ast.  She dates the painting to the period after 1632 when the artist was living in Delft.

This unusually large panel showcases van der Ast's extraordinary ability as a still life painter.  He trained in Middelburg in the studio of his brother in law, Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder and, like his teacher, painted mainly still lifes of flowers and fruit.  As he matured, van der Ast's compositions became more complex than those of his teacher.  Through an increasingly deft use of light and shade, he succeeded in giving the objects depicted more volume, and his overall compositions an illusion of depth.  He also became one of the foremost painters of shells which he developed into a genre in its own right.  Shells had gained enormous popularity as exotic collectibles and, like tulips, were the subject of great monetary speculation.

This type of composition, depicting a lavish spray of mixed fruit arranged in the manner of flowers, is somewhat unusual in van der Ast's oeuvre.  Another example, in an upright format, was formerly in the van Hoorn collection and sold London, Sotheby's, 3 July 1996, lot 30.  Based on the elaborate depiction of the fruit and shells and the greater emphasis on creating a feeling of space around the objects, the present painting can be considered a mature work by the artist.