Balthasar van der Ast

Balthasar van der Ast was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes; he is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of shell painting. His still lifes often contain insects and lizards.
He was born in Middelburg and died in Delft.
His lifetime of works was once summarized by an Amsterdam doctor who said, "In flowers, shells and lizards, beautiful".