Balthasar van der Ast (1593-94 - 1657)

• Was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
• der Ast specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes.
• He is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of shell painting.
• His still lifes often contain insects and lizards.
• His father, Hans, was a widower, and when he died in 1609, Balthasar moved in with his older sister, Maria, and his brother-in-law, the prominent Dutch painter Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, whom Maria married in 1604.
• Van der Ast was trained by Bosschaert.
• In turn, the three sons of Ambrosius Bosschaert - Ambrosius, Johannes, and Abraham were trained by van der Ast upon the death of their father.
• The displayed painting is a crop from: Balthasar van der Ast, Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, 1620 - 1621.
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Balthasar van der Ast, Sea Snail and Fruits, c. 1635

Original, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden. Visited in 2018.

Balthasar van der Ast, Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, 1620 - 1621

Original, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Visited in 2018.

Balthasar van der Ast, Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, 1620 - 1621

Balthasar van der Ast, Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects, c. 1630

Original, The National Gallery, London. Visited in 2018-19.

Balthasar van der Ast, Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects, c. 1630

Balthasar van der Ast, A basket with cherries, apples, peaches and a bunch of grapes, surrounded by apples, peaches, shells, bees and a dragonfly, 1647

Original, Dorotheum, Vienna. Visited in 2019.

Balthasar van der Ast, A basket with cherries, apples, peaches and a bunch of grapes, surrounded by apples, peaches, shells, bees and a dragonfly, 1647