Artwork
Cartouche with Garlands of Fruit and a Wine Glass
Cartouche with Garlands of Fruit and a Wine Glass is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Alexander Coosemans. It dates from 1642 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work belongs to the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is displayed as part of its still-life holdings.
This still-life painting shows a decorative cartouche framing a wine glass surrounded by fruit, a composition typical of 17th-century Flemish still-life iconography. The garlands of fruit and the wine glass together symbolize abundance, transience, and the pleasures of the senses, reflecting the era's contemplation of mortality and material wealth. Coosemans' precise rendering of texture and light emphasizes the tactile quality of the objects, inviting viewers to consider both the visual delight and the fleeting nature of worldly enjoyments.
The work belongs to the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is displayed as part of its still-life holdings.
The painting measures 116.5 cm in height and 92.5 cm in width.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, characteristic of the Flemish still-life tradition. It depicts a cartouche framing fruit and a wine glass, rendered in a compositional balance that emphasizes the tactile quality of the depicted objects. The formal handling of light and shadow across the fruit surfaces reveals a refined attention to texture and materiality, while the stylized garland framing contributes to a decorative yet naturalistic visual rhythm.
History & Provenance
The painting is dated to 1642 based on internal documentation, which provides the single definitive date for its creation.
It entered the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it remains in the permanent collection. The museum’s records list the work under Alexander Coosemans’s name with dimensions of 116.5 cm in height and 92.5 cm in width, confirming its presence in the institution’s holdings.
The painting is held by Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it is inventoried as part of the national collection. It was accessioned under the museum’s holdings for 17th‑century Flemish still life painting. The work has been exhibited at the museum as part of its permanent display of early modern European art, though no temporary exhibitions are recorded in the provided sources.
Overview
Created in 1642, this oil painting by Flemish artist Alexander Coosemans presents a classic Baroque still life. Central to the composition is a solitary wine glass, surrounded by luxuriant garlands of fruit that sweep around the canvas edges, suggesting motion and abundance. The work is part of the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst.
Artist & collection
Artist
Alexander Coosemans (1627–1689) was a Flemish Baroque painter specialized in still lifes of flower pieces, fruit, and inanimate subjects. He painted vanitas still lifes, pronkstillevens and game pieces.
