Lot 1107 Nα

Nicolaes de Vree must have been a highly sought after painter during his lifetime, judging by the amount of old Dutch inventories listing his breakfast and forest floor still lifes. Several landscapes of his displaying the influence of Jan Wynants have also survived (cf. Erika Gemar-Koeltzsch: Holländische Stillebenmaler im 17. Jahrhundert. Lingen 1995, vol. 3, p. 1068).
This large format work depicts the tiny world of plants and insects found among the roots of a tree. The forest floor appears as a microcosm of nature untouched by the hand of man. The ground and the tree trunk are covered with large leaves which stand out against the dark background in finely nuanced green tones. A red flower petal in the centre of the image and several white butterflies provide bursts of colour amid a composition otherwise dominated by shades of brown and green. The composition, palette and motifs of this work all stand firmly in the tradition of the Dutch forest floor and sous bois still lifes primarily popularised by Otto Marsius van Schrieck.