Forest Still Life

A forest floor still life in the tradition of 17th-century Dutch masters, with a hidden landmark concealed in the grey sky.

Working in the tradition of Rachel Ruysch and Otto Marseus van Schriek, this painting arranges shells, snails, fungi, and botanical specimens on a mossy forest floor. The composition follows the Dutch convention of the forest floor piece — a genre that combined scientific curiosity with painterly virtuosity, presenting nature as both beautiful and teeming with hidden life.

Look carefully at the upper left of the painting: rising above the treeline in the grey sky is the Martinitoren, the medieval tower that dominates the skyline of Groningen, in the Netherlands. It is a private reference, placed there as a quiet acknowledgment of a place that matters.