The chargers containing fruit, candy or oysters have now been added to the vases and baskets of flowers. The symbolic dimension is clear : the food is perishable and the resplendent cut flowers will soon wither. Faced with these vanities, the caterpillar awaiting its metamorphosis calls for a perpetual rebirth.
Young artists are gifted but such themes of meals and flowers are still considered as minor. They very rarely sign and date their works and in this early period it is often difficult to distinguish who is the author among Ambrosius Bosschaert, Osias Beert and Jacob van Hulsdonck.
Working on copper or panel, Osias Beert uses a technique of transparent colors bringing a shiny effect which is quite well suited to his theme. An oil on board 39 x 64 cm painted by him around 1610 is estimated € 400K for sale by Koller in Zurich on March 22, lot 3031. The cut flowers are nicely distributed between a wicker basket and a porcelain vase.
SOLD for CHF 480K including premium