Jan Davidsz. de Heem

Jan Davidsz. de Heem or in-full Jan Davidszoon de Heem, also called Johannes de Heem or Johannes van Antwerpen or Jan Davidsz de Hem (c. 17 April 1606 in Utrecht – before 26 April 1684 in Antwerp), was a still life painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp. He is a major representative of that genre in both Dutch and Flemish Baroque painting.

Early life and education

De Heem was born in Utrecht, the Dutch Republic in 1606 as Johannes van Antwerpen to David de Heem the Elder (1570–1631), a painter. He had a younger brother David (1610 – after 1669). An unknown brother of the father had a son, Jan or Johannes de Heem (c. 1603 – probably after 1659), who also became a painter of still lifes. De Heem studied first under his father, then under Balthasar van der Ast. "Davidsz." is a patronym referring to his father's name, David. He lived in Leiden from about 1625 to 1629, where he studied in 1629 under David Bailly (1584 – c. 1657).

Career De Heem moved to the Southern Netherlands and in 1635 or 1636 joined the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp. He became a burgher of that city in 1637. However he was often absent, as attested by the duties he had to pay for this. His remarkable talent gained him a considerable reputation. He could hardly satisfy the demand. De Heem was considered one of the greatest painters of his time. He was well paid and a portrait of Prince William III surrounded by a cartouche of flowers and fruit (see image at right) was sold for 2000 guilders, one of the highest prices ever paid for a painting during the Dutch Golden Age.

Personal life De Heem married twice, first with Alette van Weede with whom he had three surviving children on her death in 1643. He married a second time in 1644 with Anna Catherina Ruckers with whom he had six more children.

Work De Heem was one of the greatest painters of still lifes in the Netherlands, combining a brilliance and harmony of colour along with an accurate rendering of objects: flowers, in all their variety; European and tropical fruits; lobsters and oysters; butterflies and moths; stone and metal; snails and sea shells.

His still lifes included fruit pieces, vanitas still lifes and flower pieces, but he is best known for his ornate or sumptuous still lifes, the so-called 'pronkstillevens'. Some of his works are displays of abundance; others, only a festoon or a nosegay.

Often he would convey a moral or illustrate a motto: a snake lying coiled under grass; a skull on plants in bloom. Gold and silver cups or tankards are suggestive of the vanity of earthly possessions. Salvation is seen allegorically as a chalice amid blossoms, and death as a crucifix in a wreath. Sometimes de Heem painted, alone or with others, Madonnas or portraits in garlands of fruit or flowers. A 1645 still life of a feast of fruit and lobster is in the gallery at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio. A simple still life of pewter goblets can be seen in the Barber Institute, University of Birmingham, UK.

Gallery