# Flower Still-Life with a Bowl of Fruit and Oysters [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [HEEM, Jan Davidsz. de]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 73 x 68 cm ## Commentary During the period 1640-70, Jan Davidsz. de Heem created a synthesis between Flemish and Dutch flower painting. The present painting was made during his stay in Utrecht between 1665 and 1670, and it is one of his most refined, elegant, and detailed work. It shows the decorative and asymmetrical style that characterises his late work. Everything is observed in minute detail. The background is black; the studio window can be seen reflected in the glass vase. This flower piece incorporates vanitas symbols: the shells, insects, ears of grain, roses and anemones, are all traditional symbols of the fragility of human life. The peonies, with their rich fragrance, were perceived as symbols of transient pleasures. ## Related artworks - [A Table of Desserts]() - [Banquet Piece]() - [Bouquet in a Glass Vase]() - [Breakfast Still-Life]() - [Eucharist in Fruit Wreath]() - [Festoon of Fruit and Flowers \(detail\)]() - [Festoon of Fruit and Flowers]() - [Festoon with Flowers and Fruit]() - [Flower Still-life with Crucifix and Skull]() - [Flowers in Glass and Fruits]() - [Fruit and a Vase of Flowers]() - [Fruit and Flower Still-Life]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()