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The octagonal format of this painting makes it unique among still lifes in seventeenth-century Spain (and, indeed, the rest of Europe), in which rectangular supports predominated. This peculiarity has important consequences in terms of the compositional organisation of the piece and accentuates the work´s status as a witty game and an occasion to display the artist´s technical abilities. The objec
Like its companion (P7906), this piece was acquired by the Museo del Prado with an attribution to Fernández el Labrador (doc. 1629-1657), a painter specialized in depictions of grapes. However, the similarity of both paintings to a canvas at the Museo Cerralbo (Madrid, Inv. no. 3898) on which Pret’s signature was discovered in 2013, explains its new attribution to that Flemish-born still-li
Juan Fernández received the nickname “El Labrador” (“The Farmworker”) because he lived in the country, where he specialized in paintings of fruit. Their quality made them popular in the English and Spanish courts, and the artist´s name was mentioned with admiration by the earliest historians of Spanish art. Among that fruit, he developed a special interest in depicting bunches of grapes, fo
This work and its companion (P6413) belonged to Jean de Croy, Count of Solre and captain of the Flemish Royal Guard of Archers, of which Van der Hamen was a member. Unframed, the two paintings hung in De Croy’s Madrid palace, where they flanked the entrance to the painting gallery. As such, they may have served as a trompe l’oeil expansion of the real space, whose floor they probably reproduce. Th
Juan van der Hamen y León attained notable fame as a painter of still lifes in the court in Madrid. His early death in 1631 explains the concentration of his works from the 1620s, a brief period that nevertheless offers an interesting evolution in the typologies of his paintings, suggesting that he was open to incorporating aspects of other artists´ work. Still life with fruits and vegetabl
This magnificent painting once belonged to Diego Mexía Felípez de Guzmán, Marquis of Leganés, in whose collection it was inventoried in 1655. This collection of nearly 1300 paintings comprised works by some of the most important European painters of the time, including a great number of Flemish still lifes and genre paintings. Van der Hamen was represented by nine still
Like its pair (P7905), this canvas was acquired as a work by Juan Fernández el Labrador (documented 1629-57), who specialised in painting grapes. However, the similarities between the pair in the Prado and a canvas in the Museo Cerralbo (Madrid) on which Prets signature was discovered in 2013 have led to a new attribution to that artist of Flemish origin, a member of Philip IV´s guard of ar
In Tomás Hiepes´s Delftware fruit dish and two flower vases, a large bowl made from the ceramic typical of the Dutch city of Delft, filled with apples, pears and plums, is placed at the centre of a table, flanked by two sumptuous vases filled with aromatic orange blossoms. In its companion piece (P7910), two ceramic fruit dishes, decorated with motifs of eastern influence, are brimming with
This small and simple floral composition was attributed to Francisco de Zurbarán before it was reassigned to El Labrador. The artist has depicted the flowers (pinks, lilies and a rose) as strongly lit against a dark background. This is a fragment of what must have been a larger composition that was cut down in the past for unknown reasons.
This still life shows the inside of a cupboard. On the shelf are a group of birds consisting of two serins, two goldfinches and two sparrows on a cane, as well as three carrots, two radishes, and a large white thistle that closes the composition. Hanging from the upper sill are three lemons, seven apples, a goldfinch, a sparrow and two red partridges. The composition is outstanding for its sobriet
Hiepes fue un pintor versátil que desarrolló las diferentes posibilidades del bodegón. Entre los motivos recurrentes en su obra se encuentran las uvas (P3658) así como los higos maduros. Ambos motivos aparecen en un exterior, en el campo, e incluyen pequeños animales: caracoles y una lagartija.
Increasingly valued for the splendid series of works he made during the second and very nearly the third quarter of Spain’s Siglo de Oro, Antonio Ponce was from the generation after Van der Hamen. In fact, he was a relative of the elder painter, as well as his apprentice, which further reinforced his dependence.Like his peers, he responded to the demand for works pertaining to specific subgenres o
Various vessels of different materials, shapes and uses rest on a wooden surface that could be a table or a shelf. From left to right they are: a pewter plate holding a complex and refined goblet, probably of gilded silver; a water jug from Triana of the short known as eggshell (made of porous earthenware that cools water though evaporation), a vase from the Indies (probably from the Viceroyalty o
This work is an important addition to the Museo del Prado’s collection, as it is signed by an artist from the area of Toledo who made very few paintings. Indeed, the museum has only one other signed still life by him -The Chicken Seller (P08063)- and three more that are attributed to him: Saint John the Baptist (P01308), The Penitent Mary Magdalene (P01309) and The Miracle of Saint Bernard (P03489
In Tomás Hiepes´s Delftware fruit dish and two flower vases (P7909), a large bowl made from the ceramic typical of the Dutch city of Delft, filled with apples, pears and plums, is placed at the centre of a table, flanked by two sumptuous vases filled with aromatic orange blossoms. In its companion piece, Two Fruit Bowls on a Table (P7910), two ceramic fruit dishes, decorated with motifs of
The composition of this still-life follows a strict geometric schema, in the manner of Juan van der Hamen. Two baskets and two metal plates flank a dark bottle in the center of the painting, marking the main axis of symmetry around which the composition is organized. One of the baskets contains a mound of hazelnuts and chestnuts with smooth, shiny skin, both nuts associated with autumn. The basket
A narrow board bears a small selection of objects and victuals worthy of a snack. Their volumes and qualities are defined by the light, making the various elements stand out on a very dark background. The perceptible influence of Sánchez Cotán and the knowledge of Italian tenebrist painting made this the most unanimously admired still life by Van der Hamen. The view of these sweets b
