Jan Davidsz de Heem

Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606–1684) was born in Utrecht, the son of the painter David de Heem, and studied first with his father and then with Balthasar van der Ast. He lived in Leiden from about 1625 to 1629, studying there under David Bailly in 1629, before moving to Antwerp, where he joined the Guild of Saint Luke in 1635 or 1636. He stayed in Antwerp until 1667, spent a few years back in Utrecht, and died in Antwerp. He is a major figure in both Dutch and Flemish still-life painting, best known for the ornate displays called pronkstillevens, which combine brilliant colour with exact rendering of flowers, fruit, shellfish, insects, stone and metal. Many of his pictures carry a moral or religious meaning, with salvation shown allegorically as a chalice among blossoms and death as a crucifix in a wreath. Demand for his work was so great that he could hardly meet it, and his sons worked in his studio on the commissions. Here: Chalice and Host in a Niche, within a Cartouche of Roses and Fruit.