Hanau 1604 – Frankfurt am Main 1645/55

Isaak Soreau was born in the small German town of Hanau to the artist Daniel Soreau (before 1565-1619). Hanau was one of the major centres of still life painting in Germany at the time. His father managed a workshop where Sebastian Stosskopff (1597-1657) and Joachim von Sandart (1606-1688) did their apprenticeship. The Soreau family had left Tournai to join supporters of the Reformation. Alongside his twin brother Peter (1604-1672), Isaak learned the trade in his father's workshop until 1619. His paintings are characterised by his search for balance and front-facing objects, reminiscent of the style of his contemporary from Antwerp, Jacob van Hulsdonck (1582-1647). He is also thought to have worked in Antwerp, perhaps even in Hulsdonck's workshop; one of his still lifes bears the city's coat of arms on the back of the panel . He then went on to work in Frankfurt am Main. Gifted with a particularly developed sense of observation, Soreau transcends objects by exalting their natural beauty. Exhibiting a rarely-equalled dexterity, his technique is exceptional, clear and of a rare sharpness. Unknown to art historians until the mid-1900s, he is now admired by connoisseurs and unquestionably ranks alongside the best still-life painters of the Golden Age.