Osias Beert

Background

Osias Beert was born in 1580 in Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium.

Education

Osias studied under a purported teacher, an otherwise unknown artist by the name of Andris van Baseroo, with whom he studied in 1596.

Career

Osias joined the Antwerp St. Lukas Guild of St. Luke as a priviledged master in 1602. Beert worked in Antwerp nearly all his life. As a still life painter, he specialized in depicting tables laden with light food, his still lifes were precursors of the ornamental still life that became very popular in Holland, later known by the term Breakfast. Beert also worked as a cork merchant. The fact that he had this second profession suggests that he did not earn a high income as a painter. Osias Beert died in Anwerp probably in 1624.

Achievements

• Osias has been recognized as one of the most influential artists of the earliest generation of still life painters in Flanders. He was not only a notable pioneer in the development of tabletop still lifes, specifically those filled with festive culinary delights, but also painted sumptuous floral bouquets, which he often depicted in expensive Wan Li vases.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, and Wine

  • Bouquet in a Niche

  • Still Life

  • Still Life with Artichokes

  • Three Dishes of Sweetmeats and Chestnuts with Three Glasses on a Table

  • Still Life of Fruit

  • Still Life of a Roast Chicken, a Ham and Olives on Pewter Plates with a Bread Roll, an Orange, Wineglasses and a Rose on a Wooden Table

  • Still Life

  • Still Life of fruit in a Wan-li Bowl

  • Still Life with Cherries and Strawberries in China Bowls

  • Still Life with Oysters and Pastries

  • Still Life Of Fruit And A Plate Of Oysters

Views

Osias's style is quasi-geometric and shows an eye for detail. He also strived for objectivity and displayed a strong sense of plasticity.

Membership

Osias joined the Antwerp's Guild of St. Luke in 1602. Beert was also a member of the rhetoricians' chamber the Olive Branch from 1615 until his death in 1624.

Interests

• Artists

  Jan Brueghel the Elder, Georg Flegel, Ambrosius Bosschaert

Connections

Osias married Marguerite Ykens on January 8, 1606. Their son, Osias Beert the Younger, became an artist who successfully worked in his father's style.

Spouse:

Marguerite Ykens

Son:

Osias Beert the Younger

nephew:

Frans Ykens

teacher:

Andris van Baseroo

pupil:

Paulus Pontius

pupil:

Frans van der Borch

pupil:

Jan Willemsen

Friend:

Peter Rubens