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Lawrence Steigrad Fine Arts
Evert van Aelst
Still Life with a Roemer, Tazza, and Fruit on a Stone Ledge
oil on panel, panel maker G. R., with collector’s seal on the reverse
Netherlands
early part of the 17th Century
signed and dated E. V. aelst a 1639 on the stone ledge
15.35 x 12 inches (39 x 30 cm.)
description
Evert van Aelst was the uncle as well as teacher of Willem van Aelst. By 1632 he was a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Delft. His paintings were quite popular in Delft, and the artist sold quite a number of works during his lifetime. Fascinatingly and “of great significance is, that the term stilleven (still life) was, as far as we know from surviving documentation, first used in connection with Van Aelst, namely in an inventory of 1650 which refers to ‘een stilleven van Evert van Aelst’ (a still life by Evert van Aelst)”. [1]
Equally intriguing is John Michael Montias’ supposition that Van Aelst taught Vermeer. “Johannes [Vermeer] may have been regularly apprenticed, perhaps for the first two of his six – years’ stint, with the still life painter Evert van Aelst. Van Aelst owed Vermeer’s father money when the boy was eleven years old, which he could have paid off by instructing him in the art of painting. He is known to have been a successful teacher … Evert van Aelst enjoyed a reputation for painting the shine and gleams on reflective metals – surely a skill that young Vermeer would have wanted to acquire.”[2]
Besides his nephew other apprentices included Jan Denysz, Adam Pick and in all likelihood Emanuel de Witte. The artist died in poverty but based on the holdings of his estate, it was probably the result of an extravagant lifestyle. Only a handful of his works are known to exist, with the majority of them in small formats. Subjects range from florals, vanitas, and as here displays of fruit and drink.[3] Focusing on a few simple objects through an economy of means Van Aelst has created a masterpiece. Asymmetrically placed a Roemer, overturned Tazza with a few pieces of fruit are situated across a stone ledge. Light enters from an unseen window in the upper left casting reflections on the glass and sheen of the Tazza. The overall harmony is enhanced by the employment of a few related hues. The preeminence of the Roemer amplified by the upright format of the panel combine to create the impression of monumentality. Further it is Van Aelst’s employment of clarity and restraint that imbue this work with its sense of timelessness.
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[1] Sam Segal & Klara Alen, “Evert van Aelst” in Dutch and Flemish Flower Pieces, volume I, Brill, Hes & De Graaf, Leiden, 2020, p. 301.
[2] John Michael Montias, Vermeer and his Milieu: a web of social history, Princeton University Press, N.J., 1989, p. 103.
[3] Sam Segal & Klara Alen, op.cit., p. 301.
Equally intriguing is John Michael Montias’ supposition that Van Aelst taught Vermeer. “Johannes [Vermeer] may have been regularly apprenticed, perhaps for the first two of his six – years’ stint, with the still life painter Evert van Aelst. Van Aelst owed Vermeer’s father money when the boy was eleven years old, which he could have paid off by instructing him in the art of painting. He is known to have been a successful teacher … Evert van Aelst enjoyed a reputation for painting the shine and gleams on reflective metals – surely a skill that young Vermeer would have wanted to acquire.”[2]
Besides his nephew other apprentices included Jan Denysz, Adam Pick and in all likelihood Emanuel de Witte. The artist died in poverty but based on the holdings of his estate, it was probably the result of an extravagant lifestyle. Only a handful of his works are known to exist, with the majority of them in small formats. Subjects range from florals, vanitas, and as here displays of fruit and drink.[3] Focusing on a few simple objects through an economy of means Van Aelst has created a masterpiece. Asymmetrically placed a Roemer, overturned Tazza with a few pieces of fruit are situated across a stone ledge. Light enters from an unseen window in the upper left casting reflections on the glass and sheen of the Tazza. The overall harmony is enhanced by the employment of a few related hues. The preeminence of the Roemer amplified by the upright format of the panel combine to create the impression of monumentality. Further it is Van Aelst’s employment of clarity and restraint that imbue this work with its sense of timelessness.
_________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Sam Segal & Klara Alen, “Evert van Aelst” in Dutch and Flemish Flower Pieces, volume I, Brill, Hes & De Graaf, Leiden, 2020, p. 301.
[2] John Michael Montias, Vermeer and his Milieu: a web of social history, Princeton University Press, N.J., 1989, p. 103.
[3] Sam Segal & Klara Alen, op.cit., p. 301.
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