Jan Fyt (Antwerp, 1611 - 1661) PAIR OF STILL LIFES WITH FRUIT AND ANIMALS, 17th century Oil on Canvas h cm 93 x l cm 117 One signed ‘Jan Fyt’ beneath the parrot. Provenance: private collection. Note: Among the leading Flemish still-life specialists of the seventeenth century, Jan Fyt emerged as one of the foremost painters of animals, game, and hunting trophies. The son of a wealthy Antwerp merchant, he first trained under Hans van den Berch and later perfected his skills in the workshop of Frans Snyders, the most celebrated master of the genre. From Snyders he inherited not only a preference for rich and dynamic subjects but also a refined attention to surfaces, plumage, and natural textures. After leaving Snyders’ studio in 1631, Fyt embarked on an extended training journey that took him first to Paris and then to Italy, where he spent time in Naples, Florence, Venice, and Rome. In the capital he joined the Schildersbent, the confraternity of Northern artists, receiving the nickname “Goudvink” (“Bullfinch”), a testament to both his affable nature and his identity as a painter specializing in animals. Exposure to Italian taste and aristocratic collecting broadened his reputation and contributed to the development of a more luminous and compositional style. Upon returning to Antwerp in 1641, Fyt established a flourishing studio that attracted numerous pupils, including Pieter Boel and Jacob van der Kerckhoven, both destined for distinguished international careers. The breadth of his output attests to the success he enjoyed among an extensive European clientele: the refined elegance of his animals, the almost tactile verisimilitude, and the sense of theatricality that permeates his compositions represent the pinnacle of the Flemish tradition in this genre.