Jan Davidsz de Heem

Jan Davidszoon de Heem, also called Johannes van Antwerpen (Apr 17, 1606 - Apr 26, 1684), was a still life painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp He is a major representative of that genre in both Dutch and Flemish Baroque painting

De Heem was born in Utrecht as Johannes van Antwerpen He studied first under his father David de Heem the Elder (1570–1631), then under Balthasar van der Ast He lived in Leiden from about 1625 to 1629, where he studied in 1629 under David Bailly (1584- c 1657)

He moved to the Southern Netherlands and joined the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp in 1635 or 1636 and became a burgher of that city in 1637 However he was often absent, as attested by the duties he had to pay for this His remarkable talent gained him a considerable reputation He could hardly satisfy the demand De Heem was considered one of the greatest painters of his time He was well paid and a portrait of Prince William III surrounded by a cartouche of flowers and fruit was sold for 2000 guilders, one of the highest prices ever paid for a painting during the Dutch Golden Age His sons worked together with him in his workshop on the commissions for new paintings He retouched their work and put his signature on the paintings

He remained in Antwerp until 1667, when he moved back to Utrecht, where records trace his presence from 1668 to 1671 He left Utrecht in 1671 when French troops were approaching the city It is not known when he finally returned to Antwerp, but his death there is recorded in the guild books

Van Heem married twice, first with Alette van Weede with whom he had three surviving children on her death in 1643, one of which, Cornelis, would become a still life painter He married a second time in 1644 with Anna Catherina Ruckers with whom he had six more children, one of whom was Jan who would also become a still life painter

Apart from his two sons, he had several apprentices: Michiel Verstylen, Alexander Coosemans, Thomas de Klerck, Lenaert Rougghe, Theodor Aenvanck, Andries Benedetti, Elias van den Broeck, Jacob Marrel, Hendrik Schoock and Abraham Mignon

De Heem was one of the greatest painters of still lifes in the Netherlands, combining a brilliance and harmony of colour along with an accurate rendering of objects: flowers, in all their variety; European and tropical fruits; lobsters and oysters; butterflies and moths; stone and metal; snails and sea shells

His still lifes included fruit pieces, vanitas still lifes and flower pieces, but he is best known for his ornate or sumptuous still lifes, the so-called 'pronkstillevens' Some of his works are displays of abundance; others, only a festoon or a nosegay

Often he would convey a moral or illustrate a motto: a snake lying coiled under grass; a skull on plants in bloom Gold and silver cups or tankards are suggestive of the vanity of earthly possessions Salvation is seen allegorically as a chalice amid blossoms, and death as a crucifix in a wreath Sometimes de Heem painted, alone or with others, Madonnas or portraits in garlands of fruit or flowers

His signature varied: his initials (J De Heem f), or Johannes (IOANNES DE HEEM F), or his father's name adjoined to his own (J D De Heem f) Occasionally he provided a date (such as A i65i), especially with his best work

Of the one hundred or more of his pictures seen in European galleries, only 18 are dated An early work shows a chased tankard with a bottle, a silver cup and a lemon on a marble table, dated 1640, in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam A similar work of 1645, with the addition of fruit, flowers and a distant landscape, is at Longford Castle A chalice in a wreath, with a radiant bouquet among wheat sheaves, grapes and flowers, is a masterpiece of 1648 in the Belvedere of Vienna A wreath around a life-sized Madonna, dated 1650, in the museum of Berlin, shows that de Heem could paint brightly and harmoniously on a large scale

In the Alte Pinakothek in Munich is a celebrated work of 1653 in which creepers mingle beautifully with gourds, blackberries, orange, myrtle and peach, and further enlivened with butterflies, moths and beetles A landscape with a blooming rose tree, a jug of strawberries, a selection of fruit, and a marble bust of Pan, dated 1655, is in the Hermitage in St Petersburg Some of his works are kept at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels A 1645 still life of a feast of fruit and lobster is in the gallery at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio A simple still life of pewter goblets can be seen in the Barber Institute in Birmingham UK

Works:
Jan Davidsz de Heem 's paintings
Still life with books and a violin, 1628
Fruit bowl with flowers, first half of 17th century
Still-Life with Lobster and Nautilus Cup, 1634
A Table of Desserts, 1640
Still-Life, Breakfast with Champaign Glass and Pipe, 1642
Flowers in a Vase, once part of the collection of Count Karl von Cobenzl in Brussels, bought by Catherine the Great in 1768 Now in Hermitage Museum
Table
Eucharist in Fruit Wreath, 1648
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