Arkivism
Still Life of Fruit and Flowers
Public domain

Still Life of Fruit and Flowers

Balthasar van der Ast · 1620 · panel; oil paint (paint)

From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

This still life invites close examination of all the details and elicits marvel at the richness of God’s creation: the colourful flowers, the exotic shells, but certainly also the beautiful insects. At the same time, decay is spreading. Fruit shows the first rotten spots, leaves are eaten away by caterpillars and snails and ants drag a dead fly. The painting is thus also about impermanence.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Credit lineStill Life of Fruit and Flowers. 1620. Balthasar van der Ast. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.

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