Still Life with Goblet and Fruit
Jan Jansz. van de Velde
(Dutch, 1619 or 1620–1662)
1656
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions37.5 × 34.9 cm (14 3/4 × 13 3/4 in.)
Framed: 56 × 53.5 cm (22 1/16 × 21 1/16 in.)
Framed: 56 × 53.5 cm (22 1/16 × 21 1/16 in.)
Credit LineAnonymous gift, by exchange
Accession number27.465
On View
On viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
A member of a prominent family of artists, Jan van de Velde distinguished himself among still-life painters of the mid-seventeenth century for his simple, yet elegant compositions featuring a few carefully chosen objects—here, a lemon, roemer (goblet) and imported wan-li porcelain bowl. The origins of such masterfully balanced still lifes can be found in Van de Velde’s native Haarlem. In this city, Pieter Claesz and Willem Heda pioneered the tradition of depicting simple Dutch meals monochromatically. Van de Velde remained faithful to the studied, objective quality of his predecessors’ work, closely observing the unique manner in which light responded to diverse surfaces, such as glass, porcelain, or fruit. By mid-century, the artist had moved to Amsterdam, which, stimulated by Willem Kalf’s arrival in 1650, had become a center for still-life painting. Whereas Kalf’s colorful compositions celebrated the opulence of exquisite objects, Van de Velde’s canvases were more austere. Kalf’s dramatic use of light and warmer tonalities ultimately influenced Van de Velde’s later work.
InscriptionsLower right: Jan Vande Velde ANO / 1656 / fecitProvenanceHenry Jacob Bigelow (b. 1818 - d. 1890), Boston, MA; by descent to William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston; by 1927, from William Bigelow to an anonymous donor; 1927, gift by exchange from an anonymous donor to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 8, 1927)
Willem van de Velde the Younger
about 1672
Adriaen van de Velde
K. van Velde
Daniel Jansz. Thievaert
about 1640-45
Marie Diéterle Van Marcke de Lummen