Adriaen Coorte, 'Still Life with Strawberries, Gooseberries and Asparagus', 1703
About the work
Overview
This is a typical example of the small but exquisitely executed still-life paintings which were Adriaen Coorte’s specialism. He used a dark background and dramatic lighting to highlight the contrast between different shapes and surfaces, such as the translucence of ripe gooseberries and the musty sheen on the plum.
The high degree of precision gives the impression of a realistic scene – you might assume it has been painted from life. But this can’t have been the case, because the food depicted here would not have been available at the same time. Asparagus spears are cut in May; strawberries usually ripen from June; gooseberries are picked in early July and plums in August.
Compositions which belied seasonal availability in this way were common in Dutch still-life and flower paintings, however. There was a long tradition of artists working from studio drawings rather than painting direct from nature.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Still Life with a Bowl of Strawberries, a Spray of Gooseberries, Asparagus and a Plum
- Artist
- Adriaen Coorte
- Artist dates
- 1659/64 - in or after 1707
- Date made
- 1703
- Medium and support
- oil on paper, mounted on canvas
- Dimensions
- 35.7 × 42.8 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Gift from the collection of Willem Baron van Dedem, 2017
- Inventory number
- NG6664
- Location
- Room 25
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 20th-century Replica Frame
Provenance
Additional information
This painting is included in a list of works with incomplete provenance from 1933–1945; for more information see Whereabouts of paintings 1933–1945.
Text extracted from the National Gallery’s Annual Report, ‘The National Gallery: Review of the Year, April 2017 – March 2018’.
Bibliography
-
2018National Gallery, The National Gallery: Review of the Year, April 2017 - March 2018, London 2018
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.