painting

Still Life with Fruit and Asparagus

Adriaen Coorte

About this work

Object details

TitleStill Life with Fruit and Asparagus
Date1703
Mediumoil on canvas
Measurements64 × 51 cm
Inventory number5035
Inscriptionslower middle: A Coorte, 1703.

More about this work

A bundle of asparagus and a dish of wild strawberries lie enticingly on a ledge in a shallow niche. The flowering sprigs that the artist placed between the strawberries illuminate the dark space with their white flowers. The meandering sprigs and a fluttering orange-tip butterfly link vegetables and fruit. Lying on the left are two blue plums, while redcurrants with a little greenery are draped decoratively over the wall of the niche. The almost transparent gooseberries also arch over the stone sill. Adriaen Coorte was born near Sluis, and was active in Zeeland Flanders. But apart from that little is known about him. What we do have, though, is more than 100 of his paintings, around 80 of which are signed and dated still lifes. Coorte specialised in delicate little scenes of asparagus (commonly known by its folk name of sparrow-grass in the late 17th century) and fruit, such as strawberries and gooseberries, which thrived in Zeeland. He occasionally included exotic shells in his pictures. Although he painted the same subjects throughout his career, there is a clear evolution in his technique. Still life with fruit and asparagus in a niche (USA, Tessa Heinz Collection) is roughly the same size as the KMSKA picture. It is a relatively early work of 1685 in which the bunch of asparagus is lying partly in front of the bowl of strawberries. It seems that Coorte then deliberately started moving the elements of his compositions slightly further apart. For example, the bunch of asparagus is beside the bowl of strawberries in the still life in the Dordrechts Museum (inv. no. DM/973/469). Shifting objects around in this way led him to separate them clearly. In the 1690s he started painting little vertical pictures with isolated objects. The motif of a stone tablet against a black or dark background is more or less a permanent feature in his works. The arched top of the niche is often bisected by the top of the painting. which tends to weaken the trompe-l’oeil effect a little. There is an identical niche in a Vanitas of 1688 in the Zeeuws Museum in Middelburg (inv. no. M89-026). In his later works, like the present one, Coorte made more use of the lighting to lead the viewer’s eye into the picture. Coorte’s oeuvre is far removed from the sumptuous still lifes and exuberant flower pieces that were all the rage in his day. His virtuosity lies not only in his carefully planned compositions and his technical skill in the rendering of textures, but also in the suggestion of appetite and delicious taste. Juicy berries, ripe little strawberries with dotted yellow highlights that sparkle in the light, and perfectly trimmed asparagus. This high-finisher artist needed nothing more to demonstrate his mastery. So there is no trace of the decay of vanitas here. Everything is as fresh as if it has just come from the garden, and looks delicious and healthy.