Still life – In the Manner of Abraham Van Beyeren – Oil on canvas

The painting is inspired by the work of Abraham Van Beyeren, Dutch painter of the Baroque period, one of the greatest painters of still life. The composition of the present painting can be characterized as a simpler version of a type of banquet or Pronkstilleven that flourished in Antwerp in the 1840s. In this ‘pronkstilleven’ (Dutch for ‘sumptuous still lifes’) De Robertis depicts a great variety of luxury items, such as the silver cup and tray, the Venetian glass, prawns and various varieties of fruit. These are all expressions of wealth as well as a demonstration of the artist’s pictorial virtuosity.