17th Century Flemish School - Still Life With Grapes And A Lemon

Exquisite 17th century Old Master still-life painting depicting an opulent bunch of grapes, surrounded by other fruits including prunes, long radishes and a lemon.

Created more than 300 years ago, almost like a photograph from a glorious past, the artist very skilfully captured the delicious and delicate nature of the various fruits, expertly rendering their soft and crisp texture, creating a beautiful memento of baroque abundance. 

Joris van Son was born in Antwerp, the son of Joris and Catharina Formenois and was baptized on 24 September 1623 in the Antwerp Cathedral. It is not clear with which artist he trained. His work shows a strong influence of Jan Davidszoon de Heem, a Dutch still life painter who was active in Antwerp from the mid-1630s. This may be an indication that van Son studied with de Heem or was an assistant in de Heem's studio and was very familiar with de Heem's work in his formative years. He became a master in Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp in the guild year 1643/1644. In 1647, he became a member of the pious bachelor society, de 'Sodaliteit van de Bejaerde Jongmans', a fraternity for bachelors established by the Jesuit order. However, this did not stop him from seeking out for love. On 22 October 1656, van Son married Cornelia van Heulens, the mother of his daughter. Two years later a son, who was named Jan Frans, was born. The last child of the couple, called Maria Chatharina, was baptized on 5 October 1660. Van Son's work was much appreciated by collectors and his paintings were in the collections of artists such as Victor Wolfvoet (of whom we are currently also offering a painting) and traders such as Geraert van Dorth. The pupils of van Son included Frans van Everbroeck, Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Younger, Cornelis van Huynen, Norbert Montalie and Abraham Herderwijn. His son Jan Frans was only nine when he died and was therefore not trained by Joris. Rather, Jan Frans was a pupil of Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder. Jan Frans became a still-life painter and worked in England.

The oil on canvas measures ca. 60 by 48 cms and with the frame ca. 76 by 65 cms.

Provenance:
Private collection Germany

Likely late 17th early 18th century.