Fruit Stall

The love of life and generous character of the Flemish people found embodiment in the monumental series of Stalls painted by Frans Snyders. This artist was the creator of a completely special type of still life. It seems as if all the wealth of nature’s bounty is gathered together in his compositions that impress us with their wholly Baroque sweep, dynamism and bright colourfulness. In them we find a variety of fruits, dead game and all sorts of sea creatures. Although these stalls are the product of the artist’s imagination, in them Snyders demonstrates an exceptional knowledge of nature, conveying with inimitable skill the colour and texture of fruit and vegetables, while also concerning himself with producing a decorative effect. These canvases were, after all, intended to adorn grand apartments. The artist produced the series in 1618–21 to a commission from the royal tax-collector Jacques van Ophem for his new mansion in Brussels. According to Snyders’s conception, the pictures might serve as allegories of the four elements – Earth, Water, Air and Fire (the Sun), and also of the Five Senses.
The Fruit Stall evidently symbolizes the Sun, as that is associated with the ripening of fruit and a splendid harvest. It is no coincidence that this picture is the brightest of the whole series, while all the colours within it are linked by a common golden tone.