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Paintings
17th century
François Habert
1
Paintings du 17th century
François Habert, "Corbeille de fleurs et oranger"
DIMENSIONS : H. 42.52 .inP. 55.91 .in
MATERIAUX : Oil on canvas
PROVENANCE : France
PRICE : Contact us
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?Oil on canvas
Signed F. Habert F. dated 1649 (lower left)
Canvas: H. 108 cm. (42 ½ in.), L. 142 cm. (56 in.)
Framed: H. 125 cm (49 ¼ in.),, W. 161 cm (63 1/3 in.)
A lover of clarity, Habert makes happy use of the landscape seen through the open window. The sense of the open air, developed by the Italianate painters, is combined here with the effects of Flemish lushness.
The painter pays particular attention to the light, playing on the diversity of the surfaces represented: rich fabrics, flowers, fruit and foliage
The horizontal arrangement of the composition, favored by Habert, is characteristic of the French still life school of the time, the whole giving an impression of abundant elegance.
Bibliographie :
Faré « Le grand siècle de la nature morte en France », Paris, 1974, p. 277, reproduction de notre tableau
The importance of François Habert's place in seventeenth-century still life painting is demonstrated by the number of paintings, most of them signed and dated, that have come down to us. However, there is very little information about his life and his name appears only twice in written documents.
The first time in Philippe de Champaigne's inventory, "Une Guirlande de Fleurs du sieur Habert", a painting acquired for the considerable sum of 100 livres at the time, the second time in the inventory of paintings of Monsieur Charles Tardif, secretary to the Maréchal de Boufflers, for a painting of flowers which would have been acquired in 1712 from Monsieur de Catinat (M. Faré, Le grand siècle de la nature morte en France, Paris, 1974, p. 275).
His early works, dated to the 1640s, show a strong immersion in the group of Dutch and Flemish artists then working in Paris. Probably trained under the Flemish Balthasar van der Ast, Habert was initially sensitive to the influence of Jan Fyt, particularly in the rendering of fruit.
His early paintings also bear the imprint of Jean-Michel Picart, with whom he has sometimes been confused. He would also have collaborated for several works with Jacques Hupin, in particular for Plateau de Fruits, fleurs, orfèvreries et tapis sur une table (see C. Salvi, D'après nature, la nature morte en France au XVIIe siècle, Tournai, 2000, p. 113).
It is especially Jan Davidsz de Heem, in Antwerp, who will be his main master. Alongside Willem Kalf and Abraham van Beyern, the latter was one of the main propagators of a trend in still life painting that developed in the middle of the 17th century, characterized by opulence and elegance.
