Who painted Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds?

Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds was painted by Frans Snyders in c. 1615.

Where can I see Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds?

Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds?

Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds is associated with Baroque.

Can I buy a print of Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds?

Museum-quality prints of Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds by Frans Snyders (c. 1615)

About this work

Technique & Style

Huguet," alongside a typed label from February 1920 that attributes the work to Snyders and was signed by the art historian Cornelius Hofstede de Groote.

Created in 1615, Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel support. The work measures 50.4 cm in height and 67 cm in width. Stylistically, it belongs to the still life genre and is attributed to the Flemish painter Frans Snyders.

The composition features distinct elements such as a tazza and vine branches, which serve to differentiate this specific version from a similar panel copy by Jan Fyt and another version on copper held by the Bavarian State Collections. The reverse of the panel retains an edging of torn printed paper scraps, including a fragment bearing the name "M. Huguet," alongside a typed label from February 1920 that attributes the work to Snyders and was signed by the art historian Cornelius Hofstede de Groote.

History & Provenance

Dated 1615, the painting was first recorded in a German private collection before passing through the Bern auction of Dobiaschofsky Auktionen AG in May 1979. It was likely owned by Reiner and Elisabeth Schöpke in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, before appearing at Sotheby's, London, on 29 October 1986. After a subsequent sale at Sotheby's, New York, on 14 January 1988, it entered the holdings of Mauro Herlitzka in Buenos Aires by January 1990.

By February 1994 it was with Jack Kilgore & Co., Inc., New York, and was purchased on 24 February 1994 by Mr. and Mrs. John Ely Pflieger of Washington, D.C. The painting was withdrawn from Christie's, New York, on 20 October 2018 and subsequently given to the National Gallery of Art in 2020.

Context

Frans Snyders' Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds (1615) exemplifies the vibrant Flemish banquet still life that flourished in the early seventeenth century. The painting entered the National Gallery of Art through a series of European sales beginning in 1979, eventually acquiring provenance in the United States by the mid-1990s and arriving at the museum in 2020. Scholarship highlights the work's close relation to a copper version attributed to Snyders and a panel copy by Jan Fyt, distinguishing the NGA composition through subtle differences in the tazza and vine branch.

Its formal balance, rich coloration, and meticulous detail reflect Snyders' influence on contemporaries such as Jan Brueghel the Younger, situating the work within the broader development of Flemish banquet still lifes.

Legacy

Scholarly attention to the work has been documented through its complex provenance and the identification of related versions. Research notes by a 2019 NGA intern highlight distinct details in the tazza and vine branch that differentiate this panel from a copper version by Snyders and a panel copy by Jan Fyt, confirming its unique status. The painting entered the National Gallery of Art's collection, where it is catalogued as a 1615 still life and studied alongside other works by the artist within the Flemish Baroque still-life tradition.

Overview

Frans Snyders's painting, Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds, executed around 1615, is an oil on panel composition. It presents a detailed arrangement of natural elements, characteristic of the still life genre. The work combines vibrant floral displays and ripe fruit with depictions of recently hunted fowl, offering a glimpse into the artist's focus on abundance and the natural world during the early 17th century.

Subject & Meaning

The painting features a diverse array of objects meticulously arranged. A prominent bowl of grapes rests on a pedestal, accompanied by a vase overflowing with colorful blossoms. In stark contrast to these symbols of life and plenty, several small game birds lie scattered on the ground, indicating a recent hunt.

This juxtaposition of living and deceased elements creates a dynamic tension within the composition, reflecting themes of nature's bounty and the cycle of life.