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Artworks
Juan van der Hamen y León (Madrid, 1596 – 1631)
Large Fruit Stand with Figs and Flower Vases, 1623Signed and dated in the lower left corner
Oil on canvas57 × 95 cmFurther images
Provenance
Caylus Anticuario S.A., Madrid, 1999;
Private collection, Madrid;
Fondo Cultural Villar Mir, Madrid.
Exhibition: Madrid, Palacio Real; Dallas, Meadows Museum, 2005–06, Juan de Van der Hamen y León and the Court of Madrid.Literature
Jordan, William B. 2005. Juan de Van der Hamen y León and the Court of Madrid.
Madrid: Patrimonio Nacional; Dallas: Meadows Museum, p. 93, fig. 6.16.This refined still life exemplifies the clarity and balance that characterize the work of Juan van der Hamen, one of the leading painters of still life in seventeenth-century Madrid during the reign of Philip IV of Spain. A monumental fruit stand filled with figs occupies the center of the composition, flanked symmetrically by delicate glass vases containing flowers. Set against a dark background and illuminated with controlled light, the objects appear with remarkable precision and material presence.Beyond its visual harmony, the composition contains subtle symbolic meanings. The vine leaf crowning the fruit suggests abundance and classical associations with wine, while the opened fig and the fallen carnation on the ledge introduce a quiet reflection on the fragility and transience of beauty—an understated theme characteristic of early Spanish Baroque still life painting.Read Essay
