A still life with a delftware bowl and a blue-fronted parrot - Johan Bouman

A still life with a delftware bowl of fruits and a Blue-fronted parrot

Oil on panel
Dated lower right

Dimensions: 59 x 84cm

THE ARTWORK

A still life in the style of the Bosschaert school, highly characteristic of Bouman's oeuvre, which also shows influences by Balthasar van der Ast; his later works are more reminiscent of Jan van de Velde III. In the scene we see three white grape bunches and four black grape bunches. Other fruits such as peaches, tomatoes and a pumpkin are also present. The bowl is cut off. it is not completely there, just like the parrot. This gives the illusion as if we are looking at a real scene. Bouman has not fully framed certain elements such as the bowl and the parrot. This gives the illusion that the scene takes place in the viewer's space. So there is more beyond the canvas.

The parrot we see is a Blue-fronted amazon. This is originally from South America. Exotic birds are a popular addition to still life paintings. In the past, people were interested in the exotic, the foreign. This inspired artists to add things to their still lifes, often based on images from a print or their own research. Balthasar van der Ast's influence is clearly present here. A parrot is sometimes present in his still lifes. A similar composition is 'Still Life with a Parrot on an Upside Down Basket'. Here we see a fruit bowl with the same fruits and the same parrot.






THE ARTIST
Johan Bouman or Johannes was a German painter active in Strasbourg, Amsterdam and Utrecht. He was born in Strasbourg in 1601 and died in 1658 in Utrecht. Around 1622 he went to Amsterdam, where he registered as a painter. He was active there until he moved to Utrecht. He registered as a painter there in 1639. His oeuvre consisted mainly of portraits and still lifes. He mainly painted fruit in his still lifes, which he combined with the addition of an animal, often a monkey.