Balthasar van der Ast

Balthasar van der Ast

(1593/94-1657) Balthasar van der Ast was born in Middelburg. There he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law, Ambrosius Bosschaert. Van der Ast, his brother-in-law and three nephews have become known as the Bosschaert dynasty, a group of painters famous for their still lifes. In 1615, Van der Ast and the Bosschaert family moved to Bergen op Zoom, and a few years later to Utrecht. In 1632 he settled in Delft, where he married. Van der Ast specialised in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes. He worked together with Roelant Savery and taught Jan Davidsz. de Heem and the sons of Ambrosius Bosschaert.

A Vase of Flowers

A530; oil on panel; 30 x 24 cm.

Signed and dated: B. vander.ast fe./.i.6.2.3..

Prov: Miss Hill, Leamington Spa.

Bequeathed by Daisy Linda Ward, 1939; WA1940.2.6.

Meijer 2003, no. 7.

Van der Ast's prolific output ranges from small coppers to large, complex compositions. He was trained by Ambrosius Bosschaert and developed his teacher's compositions with added sea-shells, fruit and other accessories. This panel from the 1620s combines a central porcelain flask of flowers in the manner of Bosschaert with beetles and a spider which may have been inspired by of the work of Roelant Savery.