Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum
23 February 2022 – 4 February 2024

We were delighted to have A Banquet Still Life by Jan Davidsz. de Heem on a long-term loan to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

De Heem painted this opulent piece when he settled back in Utrecht in the mid-1660s, after living in Antwerp for 25 years. It was at this time that he moved away from the looser Flemish Baroque style to a more polished technique with a greater affinity for detail, as demonstrated here. De Heem flaunts his technical virtuosity on a grand scale, elaborately depicting a contrasting play of textures, surfaces, and colours, making this one of his finest and most important still lives. Due to its considerable history and restitution provenance, the painting was on loan to the Centraal Museum in Utrecht for nearly 70 years, which makes it one of the most extensively researched and published still lifes by this master, featuring in twelve international exhibitions. With this long-term loan to the Getty Museum, The Klesch Collection was honoured to add to the painting’s rich history of being on public display.

Click here to read the interview with Dr. Anne Woollett, curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Click or tap below to listen to Dr Anne Woollett, curator of paintings, as she discusses the brilliant layering of the composition, the rich textures and playful allusions which made the painting a significant addition to the Getty’s Dutch and Flemish collections during its long-term loan.