• Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper
  • Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper
  • Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper
  • Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper
  • Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper
  • Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper

Jan van Kessel - Study of Insects, Flowers and Shells, 1659 - On Paper

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Limited Edition of 50

This study – a minutely observed collation of natural objects – is typical of Jan van Kessel’s work. There is an innovative element of trompe l’oeil in the work, in that each item has a shadow, and so appears to be lying on a flat surface or – in the case of some of the insects – climbing a flat wall. Some of the beetles and flies in the composition are arranged separately, like specimens in a naturalist’s cabinet (and in fact, Kessel did sometimes paint drawer fronts for wealthy collectors). Other items are interacting and overlapping like the elements of traditional still life. These include the shells that sit in front of the cut blue flower, and the butterflies that are perched on the bloom and the leaves. It all adds up to little collection in itself, a painted Wunderkammer assembled by a curious mind.

Dimensions:
Unframed: H. 17,4 cm / L. 24,4 cm - Framed: H. 20,4 cm / L. 27,4 cm
Technique:
LITO HI-RND© print on paper

Jan van Kessel (1626-1679) was a member of the distinguished Brueghel clan of artists. His uncle, Jan Brueghel the Younger, was among his teachers. Van Kessel’s delicate animalia studies were enormously popular in the Netherlands in the 1650s, a time when interest in the natural world was booming, and when microscopes were beginning to reveal the diversity and intricacy of the insect world. So in their historical context, van Kessel’s compositions function both as works of art and as contributions to fields of science such as botany, entomology, conchology, taxonomy. But as an artist Jan van Kessel could also be playful: in one famous painting he arranged an assortment of caterpillars in such a way as to spell out his own name.

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    In close partnership with the museums our expert team uses LITO proprietary Hi-Rnd© scanning technology to build a pixel perfect 3D map of the original painting.

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