Still Life

The work of Frans Snijders consists largely of hunting scenes and still lifes, including monumental market scenes and displays of fruit. Not only are these paintings a feast for the eye, they are also an important source of information about the eating habits of the seventeenth-century citizen. Fruit was an important component of the daily diet of the wealthy patrician and was customarily served with game. The painting is dated 1616, midway into the Twelve-year Truce. This ravishing basket of fruit is a reference to the prosperity enjoyed during the temporary truce, during which the Scheldt was briefly reopened, to the benefit of the Antwerp economy.