Fruit, Flowers and Game
Artist: Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os (Dutch, 1782 - 1861)
Original Dimensions: 31 3/4" x 24 1/4"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (About 1820) "An abundant display of fruit, vegetables, flowers and game birds is arranged across two levels, bridged by the partridge hanging from the barrel of a gun. Van Os has depicted all the different surface textures with exceptional skill, while the multilevel arrangement creates a dynamic flow within the composition. The Dutch painter spent a large part of his career in Paris, where he worked for the famous Sèvres porcelain factory. He was celebrated for his magnificent still-life paintings that incorporated antique art objects – here, a Greek marble stela (memorial tablet) decorated with a carved bas-relief stands behind the piles of food. It depicts two followers of Bacchus, the ancient Greco-Roman god of wine; one is a satyr, a half-man, half-goat woodland creature. The fruit, vegetables and hunted birds depicted all relate to autumn, as does the Bacchic theme. The painting may have been intended as an allegory of the season." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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