Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606-1683/1684) grew up in Utrecht, where he was apprenticed to floral still-life painter Balthasar van der Ast. In 1626, the painter moved to Leiden. There he made monochrome (“one-color”) still lifes, in which he varied on one, at most two shades. His subjects were mostly musical instruments and books. After 1631, De Heem left for Antwerp. In this city, his work became increasingly variegated and dashing. He also changed his subject matter and focused on depicting fruits and flowers. Although De Heem lived predominantly in Antwerp, he still regularly spent periods in the North. For example, he was in Utrecht in 1649 and between 1665 and 1672. Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s work was popular, both with buyers and fellow artists. He also had a large number of pupils and imitators, including Abraham Mignon. 280 works have been attributed to him.
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