A Southern Harbour Scene
by BERCHEM, Nicolaes (Claesz.), Oil on canvas, 83 x 104 cm
During the course of his long and extremely prolific career Berchem, the son of Pieter Claesz, the outstanding still-life painter, painted biblical, allegorical, and mythological themes, views of harbours, winter scenes, nocturnals, battles, and some genre scenes, as well as the Italianate landscapes for which he is so justly famous, but he apparently never tried his hand at still-life painting.