Art of Antwerp

(1601 Antwerp – 1678 there as well). Flowers in a blue and white Chinese porcelain vase placed on a table. The vase holds a bouquet of tulips, roses, daffodils, and crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis), with petals already fallen onto the plate. Although the dimensions of this painting on the cabinet are limited, the artist managed to depict multicolored spring and summer flowers in rich detail and naturalness, with each individual flower revealing an impressive radiance. Despite the bright and vivid colors, this still life is also an allegory of universal vanity—because the flowers depicted here will wither. It demonstrates the artist's mastery in combining flowers from different months and seasons in a single painting, capturing the fleeting beauty of divine creation. This flower painting shows that he, like almost no other artist of his time, achieved the high level of quality of Jan Brueghel the Elder. Oil, oak panel. 19.5 cm × 11.8 cm. Framed. According to oral information received from the late expert Klaus Ertz in early August 2023, who saw the painting in person, this is not, as previously attributed (since 2014), a still life from the circle of Andries Daniels, but an authentic work by Jan Brueghel the Younger; General literature: Klaus Ertz: "Jan Brueghel the Younger (1601–1678). Paintings with a Critical Catalogue," Freiburg 1984.