Abraham van Beyeren
Dutch, 1620/21 - 1690
Dutch painter. He painted seascapes as well as fruit, flower, fish, game and banquet still-lifes. He almost always signed these works with his monogram avb, but he dated only a few. This, together with the fact that he painted diverse subjects simultaneously and his style changed little, makes it difficult to establish a chronology. He became a master in The Hague in 1640 and was related by marriage to the fish painter Pieter de Putter (before 1600–59). Van Beyeren lived in Delft from 1657 to 1661 and was again in The Hague between 1663 and 1669. He was then recorded in Amsterdam, Alkmaar and Gouda before settling in Overschie in 1678.
Van Beyeren’s earliest marine paintings appear to date from the early 1640s. They characteristically include high cloud-filled skies, choppy seas and fishing boats under sail (e.g. Riverview, Amsterdam, Rijksmus.). The artist employed a soft, painterly brushstroke and grey tonal scheme to create moist atmospheric effects. In these pictures he was strongly influenced by Jan van Goyen, who settled in The Hague in 1631.
Van Beyeren is the undisputed master of Dutch fish painting. He depicted a great variety of sea creatures in a most lifelike manner, their bodies falling gracefully across baskets, piled on top of one another or tied head-to-tail (e.g. Fish-piece, Brussels, Mus. A. Anc.). Most of these works depict the fish on a table in a rustic interior with a view of the sea through a background window. However, a group of five still-lifes show fish arranged on a beach with fishermen along the distant shore and a large cloud-filled sky above. These may have been the artist’s earliest versions of the subject and thus represent a transitional stage between his marine paintings and later fish pieces. In the fish paintings his palette was limited to the natural brown and grey shades of the sea creatures, but he enlivened this through the pink tones of the sliced fish and the rich contrast of light as it played across their slick surfaces, reproducing the tactile qualities of glistening skin and translucent flesh with fluid strokes. Often he included crustaceans, earthenware pots, copper scales and other fishing paraphernalia.
Van Beyeren’s banquet still-lifes date from the 1650s and 1660s. These large pictures generally depict a table laden with a variety of ornate glassware, gilded goblets, nautilus cups, silver dishes, Chinese porcelains, costly fruits and other delicacies (e.g. Banquet Still-life, 1655; Worcester, MA, A. Mus.). Many of these objects appear repeatedly in his paintings. Often a pocket watch is included as a vanitas symbol warning the viewer of the brevity of life and the transience of earthly pleasures. Van Beyeren’s grandiose compositions were influenced by Jan de Heem but are more broadly painted and employ a softer palette. Van Beyeren also executed some smaller, more intimate paintings of fruit and glassware related to those of Jacques de Claeuw (c. 1620–79 or after). The pictures often display a warm tonal quality and subtle atmospheric effects (e.g. Still-life with Roemer and Fruit, Stockholm, Nmus.). His rare flower-pieces display a similar soft touch and a preference for pink, red and white specimens (e.g. Vase of Flowers; The Hague, Mauritshuis).
Scott A. Sullivan. "Beyeren, Abraham van." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T008566 (accessed May 3, 2012).
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