A while ago, I mentioned on the blog that I want a still life painting of food in ‘the classical manner’ for our dining room wall. When I came across the work of Adriaen Coorte (c. 1665-1707/10), I knew he would be a contender.
Coorte returns to subjects such as white asparagus, summer fruits and seashells again and again. The compositions are usually against a nearly black background and sit on a thick, rustic wooden table.
Not a great deal is known about Coorte; his name fell into oblivion and his artworks were only rediscovered in the early 20th century thanks to Dutch art historian, Laurens J. Bol. He worked in Middelburg, in the south-western Netherlands, where he’s recorded as having been a member of the Guild of St Luke. Many of his works are painted on paper which is pasted onto panel, an unusual method during the 17th century.
To date, Coorte’s known output consists of only around 64 paintings. Most are in private hands; however, his work can be found in the collections of The National Gallery in London, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Rijks Museum in Amsterdam and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
A few books have been written about his work and are available on AbeBooks.
Additional image credits:
Sotheby’s
