Who painted Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot?

Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot was painted by Jan Fyt in 1650.

Where can I see Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot?

Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot is held by Hermitage Museum.

What movement is Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot?

Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot is associated with Flemish Baroque painting.

Can I buy a print of Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot?

Museum-quality prints of Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot

Jan Fyt , 1650

Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Jan Fyt. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. Created circa 1650, this oil painting presents a densely arranged still life set against a deep, muted background.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The fruit and blooms, peaches, grapes, and carnations, connote abundance and the fleeting nature of beauty, aligning with vanitas themes common to the genre.

The painting depicts a lush still life arranged on a stone ledge: a parrot perches on the left, while an array of cut flowers, ripe grapes, and peaches occupy the center and right. The parrot, a recurrent motif in Flemish still lifes, often signals exotic luxury and the transience of life through its vivid plumage and status as a living import. The fruit and blooms, peaches, grapes, and carnations, connote abundance and the fleeting nature of beauty, aligning with vanitas themes common to the genre.

Together, these elements suggest a meditation on nature’s bounty and its inevitable decay, underscoring the memento mori tradition in seventeenth-century Flemish still-life painting.

Technique & Style

Created in 1650, Jan Fyt's Still Life with Flowers, Fruit and Parrot is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work originates from Flanders and measures 134 cm in height by 171 cm in width. As a still life, the composition depicts an arrangement of flowers and fruit alongside a parrot, characteristic of the artist's genre specialization.

The painting is currently held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. While specific details regarding the handling of the paint or current conservation condition are not detailed in the provided records, the medium and support are definitively identified as oil on canvas.

History & Provenance

The still life was painted by Jan Fyt around 1650, a date that appears in both the internal record and the Hermitage’s cataloging.

By the mid‑twentieth century it had entered the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, where it remains today.

Overview

Created circa 1650, this oil painting presents a densely arranged still life set against a deep, muted background. Bright blossoms, ripe fruit, and a perched parrot dominate the composition, each rendered with meticulous detail. The work exemplifies the Flemish Baroque interest in luxuriant natural subjects and remains part of the State Hermitage Museum’s collection.

Context

Fyt’s oeuvre is noted for integrating animal subjects with floral and fruit arrangements, a trend popular among Flemish patrons seeking both decorative and symbolic content. This piece reflects the broader Baroque fascination with naturalism, the exotic trade in parrots, and the display of wealth through sumptuous still‑life compositions.