Still Life with a Hanging Bunch of Grapes, Two Medlars, and a Butterfly
Adriaen Coorte·1687
Historical Context
Adriaen Coorte's Still Life with a Hanging Bunch of Grapes, Two Medlars, and a Butterfly from 1687 is an early work by this mysterious Dutch painter who produced some of the most meditative still lifes in Western art. Coorte's compositions of a few carefully chosen objects suspended or placed on a stone ledge against dark backgrounds possess an almost metaphysical intensity of observation that sets them apart from all Dutch still life contemporaries.
Technical Analysis
Coorte's oil-on-canvas technique achieves startling precision within a minimalist format, with each grape, medlar, and butterfly wing rendered with microscopic accuracy. The dark background and concentrated light source create an almost sacred atmosphere around these humble objects.
Provenance
Probably Johann Anton André [1775-1842], Offenbach-am-Main, by 1838.[1] possibly the art market, London. Irving Allen [1905-1987], London, by 1982; sold 1982 to private collection, London; (Richard Green Gallery, London); purchased October 2020 by NGA. [1] _Verzeichniss der Oelgemälde und Kupferwerke des Hofrath's André in Offenbach a. M._, Offenbach-am-Main, 1838: no. 68, as “Eine Weintraube etc. Rechter Hand auf der Seite steht des Malers ausgeschreibener Name wit der Jahrzahl 1687” by A.S. Coorte.
