Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger
(Middelburg 1609 - Utrecht 1645)
Still life of fruit in and around a basket

39 x 52 x 1 cm (15 ³/₈ x 20 ¹/₂ x 0 ³/₈ inches)
Oil on panel
Certificate Dr. Fred Meijer

This still life of fruit in and around a wicker basket is a characteristic work by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger (1609-1645). His signature at bottom right confirms that he is the author: A. Boƒschaert.

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger (or Ambrosius Bosschaert II) was the son of Middelburg still-life painter and art dealer Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573-1621). He moved to Utrecht in 1628 at the latest. In Utrecht his uncle, the still-life painter Balthasar van der Ast (1593/4-1657), supervised his training. He had a marked influence on Ambrosius' work, particularly as a painter of flowers, as well as on the work of his older brother, Johannes Bosschaert (c.1607-1628), who was also an excellent painter of flowers and fruit, but who died very young.

Ambrosius Bosschaert II began by painting floral still lifes, but like his father and uncle, he also painted fruit still lifes, some on a (porcelain) plate, others in a basket, like this one. A few examples are dated, including one from 1633 that follows van der Ast's example by juxtaposing a vase of flowers and a basket of fruit. These comparisons allow us to place the origin of the present painting in the early 1630s.