BEYEREN, Abraham van

The Dutch call ‘pronk stilleven’ (pronk means sumptuous or ostentatious) the lavish still-lifes of the type of abundant display on carpet-covered tables piled high with ornate silver platters and baskets of expensive fruit. These works are usually embellished with exquisite trappings, precious metal vessels, and delicate glassware. The term is traditionally used to categorize overt displays of magnificent banquets and luxury items painted from the mid- to the late decades of the century. De Heem, Willem Kalf, and Abraham van Beyeren were the leading practitioners of the type. Their patrons presumably belonged to the upper echelons of society and made no secret of their expensive tastes.

Abraham van Beyeren, the third outstanding master of pronk still-lifes, like Jan Davidsz de Heem, who seems to have inspired him, painted sumptuous compositions of lobsters, fruit, and expensive tableware, and included rich draperies and columns to enhance the splendid effect. Van Beyeren, however, hardly ever overloads his compositions in the way that de Heem does; on the other hand, he seldom shows Kalf’s moderation. At his best, he is a subtle colourist who works in a light key, with an appealing free and liquid touch. A soft silvery light unifies his fine colour harmonies, anticipating the palette of eighteenth-century painters.

In the midst of this sumptuous still-life showing a colourful collection of exclusive objects on a marble table top, most of which is covered by an Oriental rug, a mouse merrily climbs over the edge of a silver dish.

Dutch painter who was specialized in painting still-lifes with fruits, flowers and especially fishes.

The painting shows a river landscape with fishing boats in a strong breeze before a town, probably Dordrecht.

In addition to his pronk still-lifes and and fish paintings, van Beyeren was a gifted painter of marines. This painting is an examplar of his seascapes.

In the 1650s Van Beyeren focused on still-lifes with fine silverware, Chinese porcelain, glass and selections of fruit.

This panel shows a still-life with grapes, bread, oysters and a wineglass. Van Beijeren signed his canvases with the monogram AVB and invariably failed to include a date. The present panel is Signed with monogram ‘AVB f’, lower right on the table rim.

The still-life depicts a partridge, a turkey, a bitter orange, a glass goblet together with a mortar and a knife with an agate handle, all on a marble ledge.

The painting is signed with monogram and dated upper left.

The still-life depicts an orange and a lemon in a porcelain bowl, a roemer, a melon, a sliced herring on a pewter plate, and a peeled lemon together on a table draped with a velvet cloth.

In the baroque still-life of Abraham van Beyeren the silver plates, Venetian glassware and fruit are heaped up to form a warm-coloured whole, with sparkling light effects.

Seascapes and still-lifes of fish constituted the main part of Beyeren’s oeuvre. He painted also a few luxury still-lifes and flower pieces. For the luxury still-lifes, rather than following Dutch examples Van Beyeren seems to have been inspired by Flemish work, above all by the still-lifes of Jan Davidsz. de Heem, who had developed this kind of sumptuous still-life of luxury items in Antwerp during the early 1640s.

This composition is a simpler, more intimate version of the type of banquet still-life, that flourished in Antwerp during the 1640s, with such artists as Jan Davidsz de Heem, Alexander Adriaenssen, and Adriaen van Utrecht.

Van Beyeren, the master of banquet tables, also painted flower, fruit, and fish pieces. The earliest of the last named, dated 1649, predates van Beyeren’s earliest pronkstilleven, a fact that supports the claim that the fish painter Pieter de Putter (c. 1600-59) was his teacher.

Van Beyeren’s fish pieces seldom attract as much attention as his sumptuous banquet tables. Most people would rather study a picture of an exquisitely laid table than one of a mess of fish. But van Beyeren’s celebrations of the abundance of the sea are as remarkable as his festive dinner tables. In them he sometimes includes a glimpse of a beach in the background. The fish and crustacea he painted always look wet - they appear to have been just taken from the water - and the mother-of pearl greys of his creatures of the sea, their browns, silvers, and white are as delicate and finely felt as the colour accords in his more showy pieces.

Van Beyeren, a specialist in fish still-lifes, has placed this still-life in a visual context which is based on Flemish examples. He opens the imaginary window of the booth to show the place where this plethora has been caught - the sea and the fishermen who are hauling in the next catch on the beach.