Osias Beert the Elder

Anonymous sale, Paris, Palais Galliera, 3 September our 9 March 1972, lot 2 (as Osias Beert the Younger).

A contemporary of Jan Brueghel the Elder and Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Osias Beert I (c. 1580–1625) won fame in Antwerp as a painter of still lifes in the early seventeenth century. A key figure in the development of this genre in the Netherlands, he entered the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp as an apprentice in 1596, before being admitted as a master in 1602. His work divides essentially into floral still lives and compositions of sumptuous tables with glasses of wine and precious tableware among foodstuffs.

This very large copper plate is typical of the second aspect of his production, featuring a vanitas in the form of a laden table, seen from high above. The colouring contrasts the warm tones of the foodstuffs with the cold of the metallic and ceramic dishes. The rigorously structured composition relies on the diagonal axes formed by the dishes: silver-plated platters and a Wanli porcelain dish lead the eye to a glass of wine, still full, in the top left-hand corner of the table.

The theme of life’s impermanence and instability – central to the vanitas theme – is reinforced by the variety of fruits depicted: raspberries, walnuts, grapes, figs, apples and quinces, some already beginning to rot. In the foreground, a fly has landed on a bruised apple, while a shrivelled raisin lies beside the plate of grapes. The presence of a butterfly, another symbol of life’s transience, points to the fragility of everything – a recurring motif in Flemish still lifes of this period.

On the back of the plate, it is possible to see the mark of the coppersmith, Peeter Stas, active from 1587 to 1610. His stamp takes the form of a heart divided in three, with the letters ‘P’ and ‘S’ in the ventricles, surmounted by the number 4 and surrounded by his name (see J. Wadum, ‘Peeter Stas: an Antwerp Coppersmith and his marks (1587–1610)’, in Painting Techniques History, Materials and Studio Practice: Contributions to the Dublin Congress 7–11 September 1998, London, 1998, pp. 140–144). This is known from other works by the artist, such as Still Life with a Fruit (New York, Newhouse Galleries, 1992).