Heem, JAN DAVIDSZ VAN, the greatest Dutch painter of 'still life,' was born at Utrecht in 1606. In 1635 he enrolled himself in the Antwerp guild of painters; and in that city he died in 1683 or 1684. Heem's pictures represent for the most part fruits and flowers, insects and creeping things, and drinking cups, bottles, &c. Masterpieces by his hand are hung in the galleries of Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, St Petersburg, and other places. His drawing and colouring are exquisite, and his use of chiaroscuro unsurpassable.
Heem, JAN DAVIDSZ VAN
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 5: Friday to Humanitarians, p. 619
Source scan(s): p. 0634