Willem van Aelst

Willem van Aelst painted still lifes of flowers, fruit and game with a glossy, jewel-like finish. His hunting pieces, with dead birds, nets and embroidered bags, and his flower arrangements with a watch or crystal vase, are some of the most refined of the Dutch Golden Age.

Born in Delft, he trained with his uncle Evert van Aelst. He spent several years in France and then worked in Florence from 1649 to 1656 as court painter to Grand Duke Ferdinando II de’ Medici. He then settled in Amsterdam, where he became one of the city’s leading still-life painters and taught Rachel Ruysch and Maria van Oosterwijck.

His Still Life with Fruit and Crystal Vase of 1652 is in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and the Mauritshuis in The Hague holds several of his works. Look at the textures: velvet, feathers, silver and grape skin all rendered differently.