Pronk Still-Life

Private collection

still-life

This painting shows a large pronk still-life with flowers, fruit and fowl. Pronkstilleven (Dutch for 'ostentatious', 'ornate' or 'sumptuous' still-life) is a style of ornate still-life painting, which was developed in the 1640s in Antwerp from where it spread quickly to the Dutch Republic. Fancy pronk still-lifes feature imported fruits and expensive objects such as Chinese porcelain, Venetian glassware, and silver-gilt cups and trays, usually rendered in glistening light and a velvety atmosphere.

About the Artist

Frans Ykens

1601 – 1692

Frans Ykens (Eykens, Ijkens), Flemish painter. In 1613-14 he was apprenticed to his uncle, the flower and still-life painter Osias Beert I, and he became a Master at Antwerp in 1630. According to his own declaration (1641), Ykens travelled in Provence after his apprenticeship, staying at Aix and Marseille. In 1635 he married Catarina Ykens-Floquet who was born in Antwerp as the daughter of Lucas Floquet. She was a still-life painter sometimes confused with Catharina Ykens, the sister of Peter Ykens. Frans Ykens purchased a house in 1651 and made a will in 1666. Frans Ykens was a still-life painter, active first in Antwerp, then from 1665 in Brussels. Most of his work is signed.

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