The artwork under analysis is Still Life with Fruit and Shells by Balthasar Van Der Ast. The artist is Dutch and he was born in 1593 or 1594 and died in 1657. The artwork is located in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (Art of Europe: Gallery 244). The painting is 35 x 55 cm. The medium is oil on panel. As the title of the work suggests this is still life. The artist is famous for his still life paintings that were very remarkable due to a combination of motion and immobility.
This work of art was created during the Golden Age of Dutch Art. In fact, this is an exemplary work that represents the period. This period was characterized by realism and special attention to natural things. Thus, still, life paintings were common for that period. It is necessary to add that artists tried to convey real life as it was, which was very different from the Baroque style that prevailed earlier. The artwork in question also shows life as it is.
The artist uses bright colors to depict fruit, shells, and insects. The background is grey. Notably, the artist uses different shades of grey to emphasize some parts of the painting. Balthasar Van Der Ast uses bright red, blue, and yellow to depict the fruit. Apples, peaches, and plums prevail in the painting.
It is noteworthy that the artist adds leaves to his still life. These are leaves of a branch of a plum tree. The leaves are green with greyish and yellowish tinges. They are a very good background for the fruit. The branch is located at the top of the painting. Shells are depicted with the help of milder colors. Thus, beige prevails here. There are also a couple of flowers at the bottom of the painting.
Interestingly apart from fruit, shells, and flowers, the artist depicts butterflies, flies, a dragonfly and even a lizard in his still life. They are depicted in darkish colors. Brush strokes are very deliberate and the painting is very realistic.
The painting is also very symmetric. Thus, the fruit is depicted in the middle of the painting, leaves and flowers are revealed at the top and bottom of the work providing a frame for fruit.
It is necessary to note that apart from artistic value, the painting encloses certain meaning. In the first place, it is necessary to state that at that time depiction of shells was a norm. As has been mentioned above, artists tried to reveal life as it was. Shells are a very good example of the diversity of life. Thus, peculiar forms and colors of shells have always fascinated people. Hence, Balthasar Van Der Ast was also enchanted by shells and their forms. This is why he depicted them in his still life paintings.
It is also remarkable that the artist is very precise when depicting fruit. Clearly, the artist can choose the best, the freshest and most attractive fruit. However, he deliberately uses apples with spots. He wants to stress that it is natural and he is depicting natural objects.
The spots can also stand for decay and symbolize death and immobility. The still life painting focuses on immobility and can also be a symbol of death as there is no motion in these pictures. Life is also rather absent as flowers depicted are about to die and fade, the fruit has also been torn so they are almost dead as well. Shells are also dead and there is no life in them.
However, the artist breaks the major rule of still life paintings as he adds life to them. The insects and the lizard depicted are representatives of life itself. They are also in motion and they add life to the painting. The painting seems to be a window showing a table with fruit and insects attracted by the smell and color. When looking at the picture, the viewer feels like he/she is about to smell the fruit or flowers depicted.
In conclusion, it is possible to state that Balthasar Van Der Ast’s Still Life with Fruit and Shells is a remarkable illustration of the Dutch art of the Golden Age. Dutch painters tried to reveal nature as it was. Balthasar Van Der Ast went further and made his still life painting very realistic as he added motion to the painting that should represent immobility. The artists managed to juxtapose death and life, motion and immobility.
The painting shows that the natural world is a combination of death and life. The artist shows that it is natural to think of death and life as they are a part of people’s life. The natural cycle should be acknowledged and accepted. The artist makes people see beauty in everything (life, death, motion, immobility, and even decay). One of the peculiarities of the painting is its realism as it seems that everything is happening behind a window, and the butterflies or flies can easily fly out of the painting.