Jacob van Es

Jacob Foppens van Es, Jacob Fopsen van Es or Jacob van Es (c. 1596 Antwerp – 1666 Antwerp) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for his still lifes mainly of food and occasionally flower paintings. He collaborated with other artists on garland paintings. Together with Osias Beert and Clara Peeters, he was one of the leading representatives of the first generation in Flemish still-life painting.

Life Biographical data about Jacob Foppens van Es' life are scarce. The inscription on a portrait of Foppens van Es engraved by Wenceslaus Hollar after a design by Joannes Meyssens states that he was born in Antwerp.

At the time of his registration as a master in Antwerp, he was already married to Joanna Claessens with whom he had a son called Nicolaas. Nicolaas became a master of the Guild in 1648. Jacob Foppens van Es and his wife had three more sons and three daughters. The fact that the godfathers of his last three children were the prominent artists Jacob Jordaens, Cornelis Schut and Deodat del Monte shows that he had a respected position among the leading Antwerp artists. (Translation: Jacobus van Es, painter who excels in fruit, fish, birds and flowers which he renders very well as nature he lives in Antwerp where he was born)

He was active in Antwerp for 50 years. His pupils included Jacob Gillis in 1621 and Jan van Tienen in 1623.

Works General Jacob Foppens van Es was a very prolific artist. About 125 of his works have survived. The pictures are usually signed with his full name "I. (or IACOB) VAN ES". As he did not generally date his works, it is impossible to establish the chronology or evolution in his work. Still life with fish, asparagus, artichokes and cherries etc. on a table top

Jacob Foppens van Es painted mainly still lifes and in particular still lifes of food. They typically depict fruit, fish, lobster, oysters, mussels, cheese, ham, bread, olives, lemons and oranges together with objects such as glassware, pitchers and silver. Occasionally his compositions include animals such as butterflies, birds or squirrels or a flower. His still lifes typically depict a random accumulation of unrelated objects on a sharply inclined table with the principal concern being the realisation of rich colour.

His still lifes are generally archaizing in style and follow the small 'breakfast still life's' of the Flemish masters Osias Beert and Clara Peeters. He later came under the influence of the Dutch still life painter Floris van Schooten. His works achieve a sense of three-dimensionality through dramatic lighting and a wide range of colours.

Garland paintings Foppens van Es occasionally worked on garland paintings in which the staffage was painted by other artists. Garland paintings are a special type of still life developed in Antwerp by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick van Balen at the request of the Italian cardinal Federico Borromeo at the beginning of the 17th century. Other artists involved in the early development of the genre included Andries Daniels, Peter Paul Rubens and Daniel Seghers.

The garland genre was initially connected to the visual imagery of the Counter-Reformation movement.