Rating and value of paintings by Osias Beert

If you own a work by or after the artist Osias Beert and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with an accurate estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, should you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of the artist Osias Beert   

Osias Beert the Elder was a Dutch painter of the 17th century. A world-famous figure, there are relatively few works attributed to him on the art market, but these are extremely highly prized and well priced.

The bulk of his output revolves around painting, but a few drawings and engravings are also preserved.

Works by Osias Beert are sold for between €16,600 and €1,844,630 (attributed to or workshop of for the smaller results). His oil on canvas Nature morte avec huitres, langoustines, olives, noisettes et verre à la façon de Venise sold for €970,000 in 2025.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Artist's style and technique

Osias Beert the Elder (1550 - 1623/24) was an early 17th-century Flemish still-life specialist active in Antwerp. He contributed to the emergence of the genres " ontbijtjes " (breakfasts), and bouquets of flowers as independent works in Northern European art.

The typical composition is an elevated view (in his early works) or slightly refined with forced perspective, entablature objects and orderly but rich arrangements.

Recurring motifs include fruit dishes (apples, grapes, cherries), Chinese Wan Li porcelain tableware, wine glasses, oyster glasses and other precious objects, as well as symbols of luxury and abundance.

The chromatic palette contains mostly earthy tones (browns, ochres) deep greens and cool blues in the background seasoned with bright accents (reds, yellows, greens) for fruit or flowers.

The visual mood that emerges is one of soft light, with an often neutral dark background to bring out the brilliance of objects or the freshness of fruit and flowers. Beerts often paints with an oak panel, sometimes copper.

He superimposes layers of oil in a very fluid way to obtain transparency, a certain depth of color and a shiny effect on objects (glass, oyster shells, fruit). The point of view is elevated and the entablature is visible, allowing us to see all the objects arranged on a table, typical of " ontbijtjes ".

The organization of the space is geometric and rigorous, with objects and dishes arranged along diagonals, intersections of shapes and tight framing, giving a strong formal coherence.

The details are quite illusionistic, with a precise rendering of textures (shells, glass, reflections on metallic surfaces), small elements (butterflies, dragonflies) that can have a symbolic dimension like vanity.

The life of Osias Beert

Osias Beert the Elder was born in 1580, probably in Antwerp, Belgium. He probably completed his apprenticeship with Andries van Baesrode (known as " van Baseroo "), in Antwerp.

In 6102, he was admitted as a master to the Guilde de Saint-Luc d'Anvers. On January 8, 1606, he married Margaretha Ykens (or Margarita Ykens) in Antwerp. He was also engaged in the cork and corking trade as a " cock merchant " in Antwerp, suggesting that painting alone was not enough for his income.

He resided in " Schipperskwartier, a modest district of Antwerp. His work is didactic : he trained several pupils, including Franz Ykens (his nephew) and Paulus Pontius.

He died in late 1623 or early 1624. His son Osias Beert le Jeune in turn became a master at the Guilde de Saint-Luc in 1645.

Focus on Dishes with oysters, fruit and wine, Osias Beert, 1620 - 1624

This oil on panel, dated between 1620 and 1624, is a still life depicting an arrangement of refined crockery (open oysters on a pewter plate, bowls of fruit, wine glasses, decorative shells) on a table viewed from a slight angle.

The composition represents an elevated viewpoint typical of Flemish " ontbijtjes ", with little encroachment between objects, each state visible and visually isolated.

In terms of color and light, the painter uses a subtle contrast between the cool tones of the oysters and shells, and the warm hues of the fruit and wine. The reflections in the metal and glass testify to the painter's technical care.

Oil (glaze) is applied in thin layers to the wood panel to provide more texture and depth, and a precise rendering on the reflective surfaces (glass, pewter), with a rigorous geometric composition.

The abundance displayed is not merely decorative; it evokes material wealth but also transience (ripe fruit, oysters to be consumed, glasses of wine) with a tension between visual permanence and the temporality of the meal.

This work is typical of the artist's pioneering style in breakfast and banquet still lifes in Flanders, and is illustrative of his mastery of still life as an autonomous genre.

This work echoes other still lifes from the same period such as those by Abraham Govaerts, Balthasar van der Ast or Clara Peeters.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Osias Beert doesn't always sign his paintings and many on the market are attributed to his followers (this doesn't mean the paintings have no value). Whatever happens, for this artist, the intervention of a dedicated expert is mandatory.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by Osias Beert, request a free appraisal without further delay via our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the value of your work, as well as ad hoc information about it.

If you are considering selling your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price.