Still Life with Asparagus and Red Currants

Adriaen Coorte

Oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art

This exquisite Dutch Golden Age still life presents a bundle of pale asparagus and glistening ruby-red currants perched on a cracked stone ledge, bathed in soft, atmospheric light against a deeply shadowed background. Adriaen Coorte, an enigmatic 17th-century Dutch master who worked in Middelburg, created intimate, minimalist compositions that stand in stark contrast to the lavish still lifes popular in his era. Virtually forgotten for centuries until art historian Laurens Bol rediscovered him in the 1950s, Coorte is now celebrated as the most notable 'rediscovered' Dutch Baroque painter of recent decades. This small masterpiece would bring a sense of haunting timelessness and quiet contemplation to any home, showcasing the artist's remarkable ability to transform simple vegetables into objects of profound beauty.