Adriaen Coorte was one of the most original and captivating still-life painters of the seventeenth century. Likely from Middelburg in the province of Zeeland, Coorte was active from 1683 to 1707 leaving an oeuvre that today consists of approximately seventy pictures. His early paintings closely adhere to the subject and style of Melchior d'Hondecoeter (1636-1695), suggesting that he trained with the artist in Amsterdam, or The Hague. Determining his biography is a challenge, however, as only one written trace of Coorte survives from a yearbook of the St. Luke's Guild of Middelburg for 1695-1696. This document, which misspells his name 'Coorde', is record of a censure he received for selling paintings without g...