Andries Benedetti (c. 1615 – c. 1669) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

mainly active in Antwerp who is known for his fruit still lifes and

pronkstilleven ''Pronkstilleven'' (Dutch for 'ostentatious', 'ornate' or 'sumptuous' still life) is a style of ornate still life painting, which was developed in the 1640s in Antwerp from where it spread quickly to the Dutch Republic. Development Flemish art ...

s.Andries Benedetti
at the

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

Life

Little is known about the life of Andries Benedetti. The statement by an art historian that he was born in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

in Italy is not corroborated by evidence. The first firm record on the artist dates from 1636 when he was registered at the Antwerp

Guild of Saint Luke The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...

as an apprentice of Vincent Cernevael.De liggeren en andere historische archieven der Antwerpsche sint Lucasgilde
Volume 2, by Ph. Rombouts and Th. van Lerius, Antwerp, 1864, p. 86, on

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He is believed to have trained also with Jan Davidszoon de Heem, a prominent Dutch still life painter who was active in Antwerp from the mid-1630s. He is recorded in de Heem's workshop in 1638. Benedetti-prado

He was registered as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in the guild year 1640-1641. The last record on the artist dates from 1649 when Jan Baptist Lust was registered in the Antwerp guild books as his apprentice. While a stay in Italy has been mentioned by an art historian there is no evidence for this. The still life painter Andries de Coninck whose work shows similarities with Benedetti's work was likely married to his sister Catherine.Andries de Coninck, ''An elaborate still life with a lobster, sweetmeat pie, oysters, fruit, and a blue and white wanli bowl, a partly filled tall, glass flagon of wine, a silver pokal and silver jug, all arranged on a draped table, a view of the countryside through a window behind''
at Sotheby's He seemed to have enjoyed important patronage as one of his

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

representing a still life with oysters, lobster and fruits was recorded in 1659 in the collection of

Archduke Leopold Wilhelm Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (5 January 1614 – 20 November 1662), younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand III, was an Austrian soldier, administrator and patron of the arts. He held a number of military commands, with limited success, and ...

, the art loving Governor General of the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...

. Three of his works, now in the collection of the Prado Museum, were originally in the collection of

Elisabeth Farnese Elisabeth Farnese (Italian: ''Elisabetta Farnese'', Spanish: ''Isabel Farnesio''; 25 October 169211 July 1766) was Queen of Spain by marriage to King Philip V. She exerted great influence over Spain's foreign policy and was the ''de facto'' rule ...

, the

Queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

by marriage to King Philip V, from where they passed to the royal collection of the

Royal Palace of Aranjuez The Royal Palace of Aranjuez ( es, Palacio Real de Aranjuez) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It is located in the town of Aranjuez (Madrid), Spain. Established in the 16th century as a royal hunting lodge, the pal ...

.J. J Pérez Preciado, ''Andries Benedetti''
at the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

It is not known when or where he died.

Work

Andries Benedetti was a

specialist who is known for his fruit still lifes and

s, the sumptuous still lifes that were popular in Flanders and the Dutch Republic from the 1640s. His work was indebted to de Heem's works in the disposition of objects although in Benedetti's work there is a greater profusion of objects. Benedetti followed the innovations of de Heem, by creating sumptuous compositions, which combine the colourful Flemish palette with the more muted tones popular in Dutch painting.Andries Benedetti, ''Still Life with a Vase of Roses and Tulips, a Ham on a Pewter Plate, Glassware, a Lobster and Fruit on a Ledge''
at Sotheby's Beneditti applied the paint less thickly than de Heem. Because of the close similarities in their output his paintings have been confused for a long time with those of de Heem. Only after on several still lifes in the collection of the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...

(Vienna) the anagram " A b fe" was identified was it possible to attribute the works to Benedetti. His works influenced the work of the Italian

Pier Francesco Cittadini Pierfrancesco Cittadini (1616–1681) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna and noted for his portraits and lush still lifes. Biography Initially a pupil of Daniele Crespi, Cittadini moved to Bologna before the ...

and his presumed brother-in-law Andries de Coninck.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benedetti, Andries 1615 births 1669 deaths Flemish Baroque painters Flemish still life painters Painters from Antwerp