Lot 1092 Dα

We would like to thank Dr. Fred Meijer for examining this piece and confirming it to be a characteristic work by Cornelis de Heem from the 1680s.
Cornelis came from a well-known family of artists specialised in the depiction of opulent arrangements of flowers, fruit, vessels and books. He was the grandson of the painter David I de Heem (1570-1639), the eldest son of Jan David de Heem (1606-1684), who was first resident in Leiden and later in Antwerp, and the nephew of the Utrecht-based painter David II de Heem (1610-1684). Cornelis became a member of the Antwerp guild in 1660, and apart from a short period spent in his birthplace of Leiden, he remained in Antwerp throughout his entire career. Motifs such as the spiralling lemon peel, the blue cloth draped over a platter and the small orange blossom sprig with its white flowers and waxy, deep-green leaves can be found repeatedly in his works. Cornelis' oeuvre differs from that of his father in its cooler, more starkly contrasting colour palette and the slightly more pronounced contours of his motifs. A similar painting with oysters, grapes, cherries and a lemon can be admired in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.