Jan Davidszoon de Heem (1606- 1683) De Heem was one of the greatest painters of still life in the Netherlands, combining a brilliance of colour along with an accurate rendering of objects: flowers, in all their variety; European and tropical fruits; lobsters and oysters; butterflies and moths; stone and metal; snails and seashells. Some of his works are displays of abundance; others, only a festoon or a nosegay, Oftenhe would convay a moral or illustrate a motto: a snake lying coiled under grass; a skull on plants in bloom. Gold and silver cups ore tankards are suggestive of the vanity of earthly possessions. Salvation is seen allegorically as a chalice amit blossoms, and death as a crucifix in a wreath. Leerling van Daníël Seghers en Balthasar van der Ast. Leerlingen: Abraham Mignon; Maria van Oosterwyck en Jacob Marrell. Jan de Heem schilderde uitsluitend stillevens en was een van de centrale figuren van de Nederlandse stillevenskunst. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Davidsz._de_Heem inzoomer van Memorial art gallery http://magart.rochester.edu/VieO4135$3018*680996 Liechtenstein museum http://www.liechtensteinmuseum.at/en/pages/1361.asp#20701685