A Feast for the Eyes as De Heem Masterpiece Heads to Christies

A masterpiece of opulence and technical brilliance, Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s still life will be a centrepiece of Christie’s Old Masters Evening Sale on 1 July during Classic Week London (estimate: £3,000,000 to £5,000,000).

Impeccably preserved and exquisitely composed, this 1649 painting is considered among the finest by the artist to appear on the market in decades.

The painting will be on view in New York until 21 May, then in Hong Kong from 25 to 28 May. It will then return to London for the pre-sale exhibition from 27 June to 1 July.

Described in the catalogue raisonné as a seminal work, the canvas offers a dazzling array of objects: a peeled lemon, crayfish in a Wanli bowl, gleaming silver, and crystal glassware.

They are all arranged with remarkable precision. Tiny reflections in the metal surfaces reveal astonishing detail, including a church spire, a painter’s easel, and even the artist’s self-portrait.

Andrew Fletcher, Global Head of Old Masters at Christie’s, notes: “This extraordinary painting epitomises the Dutch Golden Age at its most refined. It is as complete an example of the pronk still life as one could hope to find.”