2582. FRUIT AND FLOWERS.
David de Heem (Dutch: 1570-1632).
David de Heem, the elder, born at Utrecht, was the father of the more celebrated still-life painter of the same name. He and his son were the founders of the "still-life" school in their country.
Except for the snail, this brightly-coloured arrangement of oysters, a lemon, a plum, cherries and nuts, with a glass of wine, is not unlike the kind of arrangement of actual eatables and drinkables which one may see to-day in the shop-windows of Italian restaurants in London. Nor, in all probability, was the motive of the picture different. "The painting of still-life in Holland," says M. Havard, "was originally sign-painting. Inn-keepers and game-dealers had real pictures as signs, painted upon their shop-fronts, and we know of several of these simple masterpieces which have found their way into important collections" (The Dutch School, p. 260).
2583. CATTLE IN A STORMY LANDSCAPE.
Paul Potter (Dutch: 1625-1654). See 849.
Signed, and dated 1647; formerly in the collection of Mr. Hope, of Deepdene.
2584. A LADY HOLDING A MIRROR.
Pieter Codde (Dutch: 1579-1678). See 2576.