Lot 1532 Dα

The Antwerp born Jan Fyt, who studied under Hans van der Berch and became later a pupil of Frans Snyders, was most famous for his refined depictions of animals and his lush hunting scenes, but also executed scenes of animals, domestic fowl and hunting scenes. Fyt travelled to France (1633-34) and Italy, where he sojourned in Naples, Florence, Venice and Rome – there he was a member of the Schildersben - before returning to Anwerp in 1641.

Executed after Fyt´s return to his home country, the canvas displays the artist´s complex figurative background: the painterly rendering and the realistic description of the objects recall Snyders´s models, whereas the composition reveal an understanding of both Northern and Italian Baroque traditions, in the abundance of displayed objects. Stylistically close to the Vase of Flowers and Two Bunches of Asparagus now in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, dated circa 1750, and the Still life with Mushrooms now in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Bruxelles, the canvas is one of the few rare examples of floral still lifes and compositions with fruit.
We thank Fred Meijer for the confirmation.