European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection Still Life with Terms and a Bust of Ceres Made in Southern Netherlands (modern Belgium), Europec. 1630 Frans Snyders, Flemish (active Antwerp), 1579 - 1657 Oil on canvas * Gallery 258, European Art 1500-1850, second floor W1899-1-4 Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1899 |
LabelThis elaborate still life is dominated by a wreath of fruit, vegetables, and grains that frames a bust of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and summer. The wreath is suspended from flanking male and female satyrlike terms (statues of Terminus, the god of boundaries). Among the many creatures Snyders includes in the picture are a crested woodpecker, monkey, and squirrel. This painting may have been designed as a screen to cover a fireplace during the summer months.* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. |
