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Core Record |
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| Title | A Basket of Fruit | |
| Collection | Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle | |
| Artist | Hulsdonck, Jacob van (Flemish painter and draftsman, 1582-1647) | |
| Date Earliest | possibly about 1600 | |
| Date Latest | 1647 | |
| Signed | yes | |
| Description | In this still life, a basket with plums, peaches and grapes is set on a wooden surface, surrounded by two carnations, cherries, a fly, a dragonfly and a butterfly. The arrangement of fruit and flowers may have a religious or moral meaning concerning the transience of the material world. The presence of insects, which have a short life span, introduces a 'vanitas' element, a reflection on the brevity of life, in a composition which is apparently devoted to the bounty and abundance of Nature. | |
| Current Accession Number | B.M.148 | |
| Former Accession Number | No. 239 | |
| Inscription | front ll 'VHVISDONCK-F' | |
| Subject | still life (fruit); allegory (vanitas); animal (insect) | |
| Measurements | 66.8 x 94.7 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on panel | |
| Acquisition Details | Bequeathed by the founders John and Joséphine Bowes 1885. | |
| Notes | A closely related composition was sold at Sotheby's, New York, January 1999, as by Isaac Soreau. | |
| Rights Owner | The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham | |
| Author | Dr Mercedes Cerón; Dr Howard Coutts | |