Flowers, Shells, Butterflies, and Grasshopper

Balthasar van der AST

This work dates from the artist's Delft period, from 1632 until the end of his life, and is more refined and elegant (with a soft gray background that recalls van Goyen) than the more decorative, Flemish-style works of his early career, when the influence of Bosschaert, his teacher, was most marked. The shells come from tropical countries. Another version of this painting is in the Mauritshuis in The Hague.

Flowers, Shells, Butterflies, and Grasshopper / Balthasar van der AST
© RMN-Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Tony Querrec
Louvre Pyramid © I.M. Pei

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