Balthasar van der Ast

Balthasar van der Ast (1593/94 – 7 March 1657) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit, as well as painting a number of remarkable shell still lifes; he is considered to be a pioneer in the genre of shell painting. His still lifes often contain insects and lizards. Van der Ast was trained by Bosschaert as a still life painter, and his early works clearly show Bosschaert's influence.