KESSEL, Jan van, I
(b. 1626, Antwerpen, d. 1679, Antwerpen)

The Day's Catch

1661
Oil on copper, 18 x 28 cm
Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence

Just below the ray is the author's signature in Latin: "Jan van Kessel made this. Year 1661." As grotesque as this scene seems, it belongs squarely in the period's taste for natural sciences.