Oil on canvas
Signed lower right: “C. De Heem. F.”

Provenance:

Christie's, London, 19 June 1942, lot 22. the family of the late Derek R Strauss.

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The Artist

Cornelis de Heem was born into one of the most celebrated still-life dynasties of the 17th century. He was the son of Jan Davidsz. de Heem, the towering figure of Dutch-Flemish still-life painting whose compositions married opulence with painterly finesse and symbolic subtlety. Trained in his father’s workshop, Cornelis absorbed the technique and rich visual language of the Leiden school while gradually developing a more compact and decorative style of his own.

The Artwork

This richly composed garland still life is a beautiful example of Cornelis de Heem’s mature output: a suspended cluster of flowers and fruit tied with a silk-blue ribbon, painted against a dark background that enhances their jewel-like vibrancy. What sets this work apart is the trompe-l'œil illusion of the bouquet hanging directly on the picture plane, a device intended to blur the line between painted image and viewer’s space. This technique was popular among still-life painters in Antwerp, and particularly favored by the De Heem family workshop.