Still Life with Crayfish, Oysters, Chestnuts and Olives (Primary Title)
Osias Beert the Elder, Flemish, ca. 1580 - 1624 (Artist)
Beert’s sumptuous still life represents an abundance
of expensive delicacies and carefully crafted objects.
He adopted a high vantage point to avoid overlapping
the individual forms of local and imported delicacies
and dining ware, preferring to emphasize their distinct
aspects. Local foods (crayfish, oysters, and chestnuts)
and products imported from the Mediterranean world
(olives, grapes, figs, and lemons) are lavishly displayed
on colorful porcelain plates from China. Fine vintages
of red and white wine have been decanted in elegant
Venetian-style glasses. This array of flavors from diverse
regions of the globe would have been suitable for a
special occasion. The unlikelihood of an artist’s income
affording such rare and expensive imports suggests
that this still life was not a duplicate of an actual table
setting but rather a political statement produced on
commission. It celebrates the varied and luxurious
world of trade and commerce that made Beert’s native
city of Antwerp such an important urban center during
the 17th century.
monogrammed lower left: .AB.
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
