Laurens Craen

Laurens Craen (c. 1620 in The Hague – c.1670 in Middelburg), was a Dutch Golden Age still life painter.

[3] According to the RKD he was a fruit and flower still life painter from The Hague who was mentioned there in a letter to Constantijn Huygens and who later moved to Middelburg.

[4] His works show such a strong influence from Jan Davidsz de Heem that he is registered in Antwerp in 1645 and was possibly his pupil at that time.

By gradually toning down the shades, the skillfully and precisely depicted objects within the painting appear almost real, the metals look due to the reflected light shape are cold and the fruit and textiles soft.

[3] In the painting Still Life with Imaginary View from circa 1645 the richness of the objects displayed attract the attention while the little window creates a contemplative illusion of distance.