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A Still Life with a Parrot, Grapes, a Peach and an Elaborate Italian Silver Ewer Decorated with Hercules Fighting
the Nemean Lion


Signed lower right: P. Roestraeten
Oil on canvas

76.2 by 62.7 cm.


Interestingly enough Van Roestraeten started out as a portrait painter, and was a pupil of Frans Hals between circa 1646
and 1651. Later he moved to nearby Amsterdam where he remained until 1659. In the early 1670s he moved to London.
There he was probably introduced to King Charles II by Sir Peter Lely (1618?1680). Lely, who was of Dutch origin (his real
name was Pieter van der Faes), was the preferred English portrait painter. Apparently afraid of competition in the area of
portraiture, Lely had offered to introduce Van Roestraeten to the King on the condition that he ceased painting portraits.
Van Roestraeten presumably kept his promise, for there are no further late portraits known by him, other than self portraits.
It seems the King also encouraged Van Roestraeten to paint still lifes, at first strongly influenced by Willem Kalf. Van
Roestraeten was successful and his pictures fetched high prices. Hence he remained in London until his death in 1700, and
was buried in Saint Paul?s in Covent Garden in London.


Although Pieter van Roestraeten was born in Haarlem and probably received his education there, his still lifes bear little resemblance
to the work of the more typical Haarlem artists such as Pieter Claesz. and Willem Claesz. Heda. The atmosphere
in Van Roestraeten?s still lifes more recalls the work of Willem Kalf, although his interpretation of the genre is highly personal.
Van Roestraeten specialized in the very detailed representation?almost portrait?like portrayal? of precious objects on a dark
background. These prized possessions often have a Vanitas content.


The magnificent piece of silverware, a silver ewer decorated with Hercules fighting the Nemean lion. This was Hercules? First
Labour: killing the Nemean lion. The region of Nemea in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese had been terrorised by
a lion with a golden fur, which was so strong that it could not be killed by any mortal weapons. According to the sources
Hercules either strangled it or shot an arrow in its beak.


A smaller and simpler version of our painting, also with grapes and the parrot (in the same pose) but without the silver ewer,
was sold, Sotheby?s London, 13 December 2001, lot 138. Fred Meijer from the RKD has kindly confirmed the attribution.

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