Balthasar van der Ast (1593/94 – 7 March 1657) was a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( nl, Gouden Eeuw ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands, roughly spanning the era from 1588 (the birth of the Dutch Republic) to 1672 (the Rampjaar, "Disaster Year"), in which Dutch trade, science, and Dutch art, ...

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 ...

who specialized in

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 ...

s of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes; he is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of shell painting. His still lifes often contain insects and lizards. He was born in

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

and died in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

.Irene Haberland. "Ast, Balthasar van der." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 2 May. 2016 His lifetime of works was once summarized by an Amsterdam doctor who said, "In flowers, shells and lizards, beautiful".

Biography

Balthasar van der Ast - Flowers in a Vase with Shells and Insects - WGA1042

Balthasar van der Ast was born in

in the Southern Dutch province of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, in the family of a prosperous wool merchant. His birth was not recorded, but years later, on 30 June 1618, his older brother Jacob's legal action indicated that Balthasar was around 25 years old at the time, making his birth date 1593 or 1594. His father, Hans, was a widower, and when he died in 1609, Balthasar moved in with his older sister, Maria, and his brother-in-law, the prominent Dutch painter Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573–1621), whom Maria married in 1604. Van der Ast was trained by Bosschaert as a still life painter, and his early works clearly show Bosschaert's influence.Balthasar van der Ast
in the

RKD 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 ...

In turn, the three sons of Ambrosius Bosschaert, Ambrosius the Younger (1609–1645),

Johannes Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

(ca. 1612/13-1628 or later), and

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

(1606-1683/84) were trained by van der Ast upon the death of their father. Together, this group of painters is sometimes referred to as the “Bosschaert dynasty”. Van der Ast accompanied the Bosschaert family in their move in 1615 to Bergen op Zoom and in 1619 to

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, where van der Ast entered the

Utrecht Guild of St. Luke The Utrecht Guild of Saint Luke refers to two artist collectives in Utrecht (city); the old Catholic ''Zadelaarsgilde'' (Saddler's Guild) dating from the Middle Ages, as well as the newer ''Sint Lucas Gilde'' established in 1611. The first colle ...

Roelandt Savery Roelant Savery (or ''Roeland(t) Maertensz Saverij'', or ''de Savery'', or many variants; 1576 – buried 25 February 1639) was a Flanders-born Dutch Golden Age painter. Life Savery was born in Kortrijk. Like so many other artists, he belonge ...

(1576–1639) entered the St. Luke's guild in Utrecht at about the same time. Savery, had considerable influence on van der Ast and his pupils in the years to come, especially in van der Ast's interest in tonality. Besides the Bosschaerts, his pupils were Anthony Claesz and Johannes Baers. It is also likely that

Jan Davidsz de Heem Jan Davidsz. de Heem or in-full ''Jan Davidszoon de Heem'', also called ''Johannes de Heem'' or ''Johannes van Antwerpen'' or ''Jan Davidsz de Hem'' (c. 17 April 1606 in Utrecht – before 26 April 1684 in Antwerp), was a still life painter ...

(1606-1683/84) was van der Ast's pupil in Utrecht. He also influenced

Willem Willem () is a Dutch and West FrisianRienk de Haan, ''Fryske Foarnammen'', Leeuwarden, 2002 (Friese Pers Boekerij), , p. 158. masculine given name. The name is Germanic, and can be seen as the Dutch equivalent of the name William in English, Gui ...

and

Evert van Aelst Evert van Aelst, sometimes known as Everard Aalst, (1602 in Delft – 19 February 1657 in Delft) was a Dutch still life painter. Van Aelst was the uncle and teacher of Willem van Aelst. Both were famous for their still life paintings of game, ...

, and

Bartholomeus Assteyn Bartholomeus Abrahamsz. Assteyn (1607 in Dordrecht – 1669–1677 probably Dordrecht) was a Dutch painter. Bartholomeus Assteyn was the son of a painter from Ghent, Abraham Bartholomeusz. In the year 1631 he became a member in the Dordrecht's ...

. Van der Ast remained in Utrecht until 1632, when he moved to Delft where he joined the guild of St Luke on 22 June 1633. In February 1633 he married Margrieta Jans van Buijeren. They had two children, Maria and Helena. In Delft, van der Ast and family lived in the house on Cellebroerstraat until 1640, and in the house in Oude Delft until his death in 1657, when he was buried in the Oude Kerk.

Selected works

Image:Balthasar van der Ast, Basket of Fruits, c. 1622, NGA 76207.jpg, ''Basket of Fruits'', c. 1622,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

File:Basket-flowers-1622.jpg, ''Basket with flowers'' Fruit still life with shells.jpg, ''Fruit still life with shells'', 1620 File:Bartholomeus van der Ast still life with shells.jpg, ''Still life with shells''

References

External links

*
Works and literature
at PubHist
Vermeer and The Delft School
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on Balthasar van der Ast {{DEFAULTSORT:Ast, Balthasar Van Der 1590s births 1657 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Painters from Middelburg Dutch still life painters Painters from Utrecht Painters from Delft Flower artists