Vase of Flowers by a Window
by AST, Balthasar van der, Oil on panel, 67 x 98 cm
This is one of the elaborate still-life compositions painted by Van der Ast during his Delft years. The setting shows resemblance to early genre interiors by De Hooch and Vermeer, in particular Vermeer’s Letter Reader in Dresden. Van der Ast’s still-lifes from this period are characterized by their exceptional refinement of execution, variety of motifs, and scale.