Artwork
Still Life with Fruit on a Table
Still Life with Fruit on a Table is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Frans Snyders. It dates from 1622 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1622, this oil painting by Frans Snyders presents a densely arranged tabletop brimming with fruit and blossoms. The composition is dominated by a central bouquet of flowers, surrounded by baskets of grapes, bowls of peaches, and plates of strawberries. Bright reds, greens and yellows contrast with deeper shadows, giving the scene a vivid, tactile quality.
Subject & Meaning
The work functions as a celebration of abundance, typical of still-life traditions that highlight the sensory pleasures of food. By juxtaposing ripe fruit with fresh flowers, Snyders underscores themes of fertility and the fleeting nature of earthly delights, inviting viewers to contemplate both the richness and the transience of material bounty.
Technique & Style
Snyders employs the dramatic lighting characteristic of Flemish Baroque, allowing highlights to catch the glossy skins of grapes and the velvety surface of peaches while deeper tones recede into the background. Meticulous brushwork renders textures—from the soft petals to the leathery fruit skins—creating an illusion of three-dimensionality and almost palpable scent.
History & Provenance
The painting has been part of the collection at Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst since the early 20th century, where it remains on display. Its provenance prior to acquisition is documented through museum records, confirming its attribution to Snyders and its consistent identification as a 1622 work.
Context
Frans Snyders was a leading figure in the Flemish Baroque movement, renowned for his elaborate banquet scenes and animal studies. This piece reflects the period’s fascination with sumptuous still lifes, where artists used light and detailed rendering to elevate everyday objects to subjects of artistic inquiry.
Artist & collection
Artist
Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes.
Still life of fruit in a basket together with game, a bowl of fraises-de-bois, artichokes, asparagus and a squirrel upon a table draped with a red cloth
The Fruit Shop
Fish Market
Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market
Larder Still life
Still Life with Huntsman
Still Life with a Dead Stag
A bull overpowered by dogs
