ANDREAS LACH (Lednice, 1817-Vienna, 1882) "Grapes, wine and peaches". Oil on canvas. Signed in the lower margin. Measurements: 35 x 28 cm; 49 x 43 x 6 cm (frame). Andreas Lach exhibited a virtuoso skill in the confection of still lifes and still lifes, which is evident in this exquisite oil painting with grapes and peaches. A glass of white wine rests between two ripe peaches, in which the fuzz has been reproduced with great plastic ingenuity. The bunch of grapes shines brilliantly, as does the cut glass. A clever play of glazes expresses each of the textures, qualities and transparencies. Grapes, apart from their Eucharistic connotations, have traditionally been associated with fertility and abundance, but also with the cycles of life. The peach, on the other hand, is a fruit associated with summer and happiness, so their combination adds layers of meaning referring to sensuality, spirituality and the ages of life. Andreas Lach was born in 1817 in the Moravian town of Eisgrub, now Lednice, in the Czech Republic. From 1837 he studied with Thomas Ender, Joseph Mössmer and Sebastian Wegmayr at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Lach was also a member of the Austrian Art Association. His nephew was the Viennese landscape painter and printmaker Fritz Lach, who succeeded him as a talented painter. His favorite motifs were flowers and still lifes, most of which he painted in oils. He also worked as a porcelain painter. He died in Vienna on April 15, 1882.