Adriaen Coorte – Wild Strawberries in a Wan Li Bowl Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

The composition centers around a generous mound of wild strawberries overflowing from a porcelain bowl. The arrangement is strikingly simple; theres a deliberate lack of extraneous detail that draws attention directly to the fruit and its container. A few stray berries have fallen onto the surface beneath, suggesting a recent abundance or perhaps a gentle carelessness in their handling.
The artist has rendered the strawberries with meticulous realism. Each berry displays subtle variations in color – ranging from deep crimson to paler orange – and texture, creating a sense of tangible presence. The delicate white flowers interspersed among the fruit add a touch of fragility and naturalness. Their placement, rising slightly above the rim of the bowl, introduces a vertical element that counteracts the circular form of the container.
The porcelain bowl itself is an object of significant interest. Its intricate design – a complex pattern of figures and foliage rendered in muted tones – hints at its origin as an imported luxury item. The bowl’s presence elevates the humble strawberries, suggesting a connection between natural bounty and refined taste. It also implies a narrative about trade and cultural exchange.
The dark background serves to isolate the subject matter, intensifying the play of light on the fruit and porcelain. This limited palette contributes to a somber, contemplative mood. The surface upon which the bowl rests appears to be a wooden ledge or tabletop, marked with an indistinct emblem – its meaning remains ambiguous but adds another layer of visual complexity.
Beyond its purely decorative function, this still life likely carries symbolic weight. Strawberries, historically associated with fleeting pleasure and the brevity of life (vanitas), are presented here in abundance, prompting reflection on mortality and the ephemeral nature of earthly possessions. The combination of natural beauty and luxurious ornamentation suggests a meditation on the relationship between simplicity and opulence, transience and permanence.