Artwork
Still life with asparagus, cherries and a butterfly
Still life with asparagus, cherries and a butterfly is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Adriaen Coorte. It dates from 1698 and is held in the collection of the Ferdinand and Karin Knecht collection.
About this work
Overview
The painting exemplifies Coorte’s preference for quiet, intimate still‑lifes that contrast with the more elaborate banquet scenes of many of his contemporaries.
Adriaen Coorte, a Dutch painter active in the late seventeenth century, completed the oil work *Still life with asparagus, cherries and a butterfly* in 1698. The composition is modest in scale, presenting a few natural objects arranged on a plain wooden surface against a dark backdrop. The painting exemplifies Coorte’s preference for quiet, intimate still‑lifes that contrast with the more elaborate banquet scenes of many of his contemporaries.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas brings together a bundle of wilted asparagus spears, a single glossy red cherry, and a butterfly with its wings fully opened. The juxtaposition of the fading vegetable, the solitary fruit, and the fleeting insect suggests a meditation on transience and the delicate balance between growth and decay. The butterfly’s poised flight adds a sense of momentary life within the otherwise still arrangement.
Technique & Style
Coorte employs a restrained palette of muted greens, browns, and a striking red, allowing each element to emerge from the deep, almost tenebristic background. The lighting creates a subtle chiaroscuro effect, highlighting the texture of the asparagus stalks and the sheen of the cherry’s skin while casting soft shadows. Brushwork is delicate, rendering fine details such as the butterfly’s wing veins and the rough grain of the wooden table.
History & Provenance
After its creation in 1698, the painting entered various private collections before being acquired by the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it remains part of the museum’s permanent holdings. Its presence in a major Swiss institution reflects a growing scholarly interest in Coorte’s oeuvre, which was largely overlooked for centuries before being reassessed in the twentieth‑century revival of Dutch still‑life studies.
Artist & collection
Artist
Adriaen Coorte (ca. 1665 – after 1707) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of still lifes, who signed works between 1683 and 1707. He painted small and unpretentious still lifes in a style more typical of the first half of…
Museum
Ferdinand and Karin Knecht collection
Continue through works from the same source collection.
Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants
Still Life with a Hanging Bunch of Grapes, Two Medlars, and a Butterfly
Still Life with Fruit and Asparagus
A Bowl of Strawberries on a Stone Plinth
Een bakje aardbeien op een stenen plint
Drie perziken op een stenen plint
Een takje kruisbessen op een stenen plint
Vier abrikozen op een stenen plint
Still Life with Plums, Peaches, Apricots, Grapes and a Melon
Natură statică
Still Life
Flowers and Fruit
A Banquet Piece
Still-Life with Fruit, Flowers, Glasses and Lobster
Still Life in a Grotto with Flowers, Fish and a Bird's Nest
Still Life with Fruit and a Herring
Natură moartă cu vânat și flori (în registrul inventar: „Natură moartă și unelte de vânat”)
Fruit and oysters in a niche
Still Life with a Lobster
Fructe cu raci și stridii