Jan Davidsz. de Heem

Jan Davidsz. de Heem or in-full Jan Davidszoon de Heem, also called Johannes de Heem or Johannes van Antwerpen or Jan Davidsz de Hem (c. 17 April 1606 in Utrecht – before 26 April 1684 in Antwerp), was a still life painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp. He is a major representative of that genre in both Dutch and Flemish Baroque painting.

Early life and education

thumb|right|Portrait of [[William III of England, aged 10, in a flower garland, with House of Orange symbols, a war booty taken to France 1795, where it remained]]

De Heem was born in Utrecht, the Dutch Republic in 1606 as Johannes van Antwerpen to David de Heem the Elder (1570–1631), a painter. He had a younger brother David Davidsz. de Heem (1610 - † after 1669). an unknown brother of the father had a son, Jan or Johannes de Heem (c. 1603 - † probably after 1659), who also became a painter of still lifes, flowers and fruits.

De Heem studied first under his father, then under Balthasar van der Ast. His "middle name", Davidsz, is a patronym referring to his father's name: In Dutch a name ending in -sz is like -son in English and Mac- in Scottish, meaning "son of" the rest of the name. He lived in Leiden from about 1625 to 1629, where he studied in 1629 under David Bailly (1584- c. 1657). His professional name, "de Heem", means literally "the home".

Career

De Heem moved to the Southern Netherlands and in 1635 or 1636 joined the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp. He became a burgher of that city in 1637. However he was often absent, as attested by the duties he had to pay for this. His remarkable talent gained him a considerable reputation. He could hardly satisfy the demand. De Heem was considered one of the greatest painters of his time. He was well paid and a portrait of Prince William III surrounded by a cartouche of flowers and fruit was sold for 2000 guilders, one of the highest prices ever paid for a painting during the Dutch Golden Age.]]

Personal life

De Heem married twice, first with Alette van Weede with whom he had three surviving children on her death in 1643, one of which, Cornelis, would become a still life painter. He married a second time in 1644 with Anna Catherina Ruckers with whom he had six more children, one of whom was Jan who would also become a still life painter.

Work

De Heem was one of the greatest painters of still lifes in the Netherlands, combining a brilliance and harmony of colour along with an accurate rendering of objects: flowers, in all their variety; European and tropical fruits; lobsters and oysters; butterflies and moths; stone and metal; snails and sea shells.

His still lifes included fruit pieces, vanitas still lifes and flower pieces, but he is best known for his ornate or sumptuous still lifes, the so-called 'pronkstillevens'. Some of his works are displays of abundance; others, only a festoon or a nosegay.

Often he would convey a moral or illustrate a motto: a snake lying coiled under grass; a skull on plants in bloom. Gold and silver cups or tankards are suggestive of the vanity of earthly possessions. Salvation is seen allegorically as a chalice amid blossoms, and death as a crucifix in a wreath. Sometimes de Heem painted, alone or with others, Madonnas or portraits in garlands of fruit or flowers. A 1645 still life of a feast of fruit and lobster is in the gallery at the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio. A simple still life of pewter goblets can be seen in the Barber Institute, University of Birmingham, UK.

Family

thumb|Still Life with Fruit, Flowers, Glasses and Lobster. 1660s. Oil on canvas. 87,5 x 72,5 cm. Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

This family of painters started with the unknown father of David de Heem the Elder (1570–1631) A number of de Heems, of whom Jan Davidsz. was the most distinguished, painted works in similar styles, that are often hard to distinguish. These include a brother, two sons, of whom Cornelis became particularly successful, and at least one grandson by each son.

Gallery

File:Stilleven met boeken Rijksmuseum SK-A-2565.jpeg|Still life with books and a lute, 1628, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

File:Heem Fruit bowl with flowers.jpg| Fruit bowl with flowers, first half of 17th century, National Museum in Poznań

File:Still-Life with Lobster and Nautilus Cup 1634 Jan Davidszoon de Heem.jpg|Still-Life with Lobster and Nautilus Cup, 1634, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart

File:Heem, Jan Davidsz. de - A Table of Desserts - 1640.jpg|A Table of Desserts, 1640, Louvre Museum, Paris

File:Jan Davidsz de Heem 006.jpg|Still-Life, Breakfast with Champagne Glass and Pipe, 1642, Residenzgalerie, Salzburg

File:Jan Davidsz. de Heem - Vase of Flowers - WGA11290.jpg|Flowers in a Vase, once part of the collection of Count Karl von Cobenzl in Brussels, bought by Catherine the Great in 1768. Now in Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

File:Mesa (Jan Davidsz. de Heem).jpg|Table<em>.</em> Museo del Prado, Madrid.

File:Eucharist in Fruit Wreath.jpg|Eucharist in Fruit Wreath, 1648, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

File:DeHeem-Vase-Thyssen.jpg|Flowers in a glass Vase with Fruit, 1665, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

File:Vase of Flowers painting by Jan Davidsz. de Heem Mauritshuis 1099.jpg|Vase of flowers, 1670, Mauritshuis, The Hague

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