SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
As a still-life painter, Cornelis de Heem developed his work in the wake of his father, Jan Davidszoon de Heem, whose son he was and who greatly inspired him. The closeness between their works often led to them being confused. A presentation by MUDAAC highlights, in one of his still lifes, the attention paid to the beauty of things and the challenge of rendering them: it notes the meticulous detail, the richness of the tonal range and the play of light, particularly on the fruits and the edge of a piece of porcelain.
Born in Leiden in 1631, he was the son of the still-life painter Jan Davidszoon de Heem. He arrived in Antwerp as a child in 1635 or 1636, when his father came to settle there, and died in the city in 1695. His career was linked to several artistic centres in the Netherlands: he became a member of the Antwerp painters’ guild in 1661 and stayed in Utrecht with his father in 1667. He is recorded in IJsselstein in 1676 and subsequently lived in The Hague from 1676 to 1690. There he joined the guild in December 1676, followed by the Confrerie Pictura in 1678. He in turn passed on his profession by teaching painting to his son, David Cornelisz de Heem.
Among the works that help situate his practice is Still Life with Fruit and Seafood, painted in oil on wood in 1659 and held at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier. Still Life with Flowers and Fruit, dated 1670, is listed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent; a Garland of Fruit, painted in oil on panel, is held at the Bowes Museum. These examples form part of an oeuvre devoted primarily to still lifes.
This profile brings together identity references for Cornelis de Heem and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lempertz · Piguet
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on wood
Früchte- und Blumenstillleben mit Insekten, 1656
Öl auf Holz
Catalogue period : 2023-03-22
Published result : 24739 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 20000–30000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil on canvas
Früchtestillleben mit Austern und Weinglas
Öl auf Leinwand
Auction date : 2016-11-19
Published result : 69440 EUR
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : 50000
View the lot at the auction house ↗These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Oil on canvas
Suiveur de Cornelis de Heem — Bouquet de fleurs dans un vase,
huile sur toile
suiveur de
Catalogue period : 2022-11-24 — 2022-12-07
Follower of
Published result : 1200 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1000–1500
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Oil on canvas
Stillleben mit Pfirsichen und Trauben, um 1650
huile sur toile
Attribution ou qualification signalée dans le catalogue
Catalogue period : 2018-03-21
Attribution recorded in catalogue
Published result : 8507 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 3000–4000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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