Lot 1298 Rα

The Dutch still life paintings of the 17th century show the endless diversity of creation, but also the wealth of a society in which sumptuous and exotic things could be gathered and brought together in abundance. The same applies to this piece, in which asparagus, onions, leeks, cabbage and cucumbers of every shape and variety are shown scattered throughout a landscape. The composition is designed to accentuate the great number of different forms and types of vegetables on display. The still life shows a rocky landscape, upon which the vegetables are presented on several levels, whereby the horizon line has been set deliberately high so as to allow a better view of the objects spread about the space.
This vegetable still life belongs to the series of comparable works by Jan van Kessels the Younger, whose composition and colouration allow them to be viewed as a group (cf. Ertz und Nitze-Ertz 2012, p. 455-459). They are all painted on copper and utilise a clear, light palette. The paintings also often contain monkeys or rodents feeding on the fruit and vegetables. The comparison with other paintings from this group illustrates that vegetables were not only seen as a work of nature, but also as a product of man's cultivation of it. Some of the works show the vegetables placed in baskets, or with the gardens in the background in which all of the things which are offered to the viewer so tantalisingly in the foreground are grown.