Painting of the Day: A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Cartouche

Still Life
Jan Pauwel Gillemans
Flanders (Stupid Flanders)
Mid-Seventeenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This lush painting is the work of the rather mysterious painter Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder (1618-1675). We don’t know too much about this son of a goldsmith who spent his entire life in his native Antwerp. Beyond those few sketchy details, we only can guess about his life based on his work and that of his son, Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Younger (1651-1704) who was also a still-life painter.

Gillemans the Elder was of the “Flemish Stuff on a Table” school of still-life painting. He excelled at depictions of fruit and flowers and used these as a way of hinting at Biblical subject matter. For instance, in the piece pictured above, the fruits and flowers that he has selected allude to the Passion of Christ and have overtones of the Eucharist. The blooms surround a cartouche containing a representation of an angel, and, an eagle sits above the entire composition.

Let’s see if we can read Gillemans’ message. He’s allowed the lower portion of the composition to be overtaken by spiky plants and those with thorns—roses, thistles, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose-hips and raspberries, all of which signify the Crown of Thorns. Above this, we have grapes, wheat stalks, corn, poppies, cornflowers and narcissus—bountiful symbols which work in conjunction with the chalice. The eagle, of course, is a representation of the Resurrection. The butterflies signify the same.

I’m not sure about the parrots. I think they’re just there because they’re groovy.

Besides, those Flemish…they’d put a bird on a table whenever they got a chance. I’m just happy to see these parrots are alive and not in a state of decay like most of the birds in Flemish paintings.

Painting of the Day: A Basket of Fruit for the Empire Marketing Board, 1931

Click image to enlarge
Still-Life of Exotic Fruit
Mark Gertler
The Empire Marketing Board, 1931
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painted in 1931 by Mark Gertler (1891-1939), this still-life of a basket holding pineapple, apples, bananas and pears on a cloth-draped table, was commissioned by the Empire Marketing Board.

The Marketing Board had been established in 1926 in order to promote trade with the Colonies and Dominions of the British Empire.  This original painting was one of several lush designs which, through using brilliant, enticing imagery, were commissioned to encourage British people to support these growing industries.  

Posters printed with these paintings, many of which were the work of Gertler in a similarly appealing style, were emblazoned with effective slogans such as "Buy Empire Every Day" and "Follow the Flag in all your Purchases."

Painting of the Day: A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Cartouche

Still Life
Jan Pauwel Gillemans
Flanders (Stupid Flanders)
Mid-Seventeenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This lush painting is the work of the rather mysterious painter Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder (1618-1675). We don’t know too much about this son of a goldsmith who spent his entire life in his native Antwerp. Beyond those few sketchy details, we only can guess about his life based on his work and that of his son, Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Younger (1651-1704) who was also a still-life painter.

Gillemans the Elder was of the “Flemish Stuff on a Table” school of still-life painting. He excelled at depictions of fruit and flowers and used these as a way of hinting at Biblical subject matter. For instance, in the piece pictured above, the fruits and flowers that he has selected allude to the Passion of Christ and have overtones of the Eucharist. The blooms surround a cartouche containing a representation of an angel, and, an eagle sits above the entire composition.

Let’s see if we can read Gillemans’ message. He’s allowed the lower portion of the composition to be overtaken by spiky plants and those with thorns—roses, thistles, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose-hips and raspberries, all of which signify the Crown of Thorns. Above this, we have grapes, wheat stalks, corn, poppies, cornflowers and narcissus—bountiful symbols which work in conjunction with the chalice. The eagle, of course, is a representation of the Resurrection. The butterflies signify the same.

I’m not sure about the parrots. I think they’re just there because they’re groovy.

Besides, those Flemish…they’d put a bird on a table whenever they got a chance. I’m just happy to see these parrots are alive and not in a state of decay like most of the birds in Flemish paintings.

Painting of the Day: A Wreath of Fruit with Birds Suspended by a Cord, Eighteenth Century

Wreath of Fruit with Birds Suspended by A Cord
Unknown Artist after Frans Snyders
Eighteenth Century
One of a Pair
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When a collector spotted a painting that he liked in a museum or the home of an associate, in the Eighteenth Century, he couldn’t very well take a photo of it. If he wanted to have a copy of th painting, he had to commission it and the work would be carried out by another painter. For this reason, every so often, we’ll come across a copy of a painting which dates to around the same period of the creation of the original work. Similarly, paintings were copied by students—either of the original artist or another—as a means of perfecting their own techniques.

Here, we have such a copy. This subtle still life is a partial late Eighteenth Century copy after a large composition by Frans Snyders-- The Infant Jesus with St John the Baptist and Putti with Flowers and Fruit Garlands. In this scene of a wreath of fruits with birds flitting around, the painting depicts a variety of fruits including cherries, strawberries, apples, grapes and pomegranates. In the original painting, this wreath constitutes the upper part of the composition—essentially adornment above the figures of Jesus and John. For some reason the artist duplicated the upper part of the canvas as its own work and then reproduced the original’s festoons of vegetables as another canvas

The original artist, Frans Snyders (1579-1657) was born in Antwerp, where he studied under Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1565-1637) and Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632). Snyders soon became a member of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1602, and, later travelled in Italy from 1608 to 1609. His specialty, clearly, was still-lifes, but he also enjoyed painting animals. He is credited for creating a new form of still life: the animal still life.  Lots and lots of dead rabbits and birds with rotting fruit...

Snyders notably collaborated with a number of celebrated artists: Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) Cornelis de Vos (ca.1584-1651), Abraham Janssen (ca.1575-1632), Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), Jan Boeckhorst (1605-1668) and Willeboirts Bosschaert (1614-1654) to name a few. 

Painting of the Day: A Still Life with Fruit, Lobster, Monkey and Silver Vessels, 1660-70

Still Life with Fruit, Lobster and Silver Vessels
Willem van Aelst, 1660-1670
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This is about as Dutch as a still life can get. The Dutch (and the Flemish), especially in the Seventeenth Century, had a love of canvases of scenes of tables laden with dead animals, overripe fruit and shiny objects. Sometimes these scenes would be given an added dimension by including living figures—usually animals—interwoven within the foodstuffs. Here, dating between 1670 and 1680, we have a still life with fruit, flowers, lobster, dead birds, shells, fine porcelain and silverware on a creased red and blue tablecloth. The scene is adorned by the presence of three living animals--a dog, a parrot and a monkey—and is further heightened in drama by the presence of a rather vulgar grimacing man behind a very Dutch window in the background.

This is most likely the work of Willem van Aelst (1627-1687) who was born in Delft where he trained with his uncle, Evert van Alest (1602-57), a celebrated painter of similar still life works. Willem went to France and Italy where he worked as a court painter, returning to the Netherlands in 1656 where he taught until his death.

Willem had a flare for rendering glassware, precious silverware, fruit and flowers and was celebrated for the symmetry of his compositions. 

Painting of the Day: Still Life with Fruit, a Lobster and Game, Late 17th C.

Still Life with Fruit and Dead Game
Michiel Simons, late Seventeenth C.
The Victoria  & Albert Museum

A stone table has been draped with a sumptuous, dark velvet cloth. Upon it, stands a roemer filled with white wine and a monumental porcelain bowl which has been filled with peaches, apricots, pears and grapes on the vine. A gleaming pewter plate artfully contains almonds and a partially peeled lemon with the voluptuous, curving rind still attached, curling over the table’s edge. A lobster has been placed on the cool surface of the table, along with a loaf of bread, red grapes, a pomegranate, more peaches, plums and pears and five small birds.

This typically Dutch still life is indicative of what I like to call the “Dead Animals/Rotting Fruit” style which was dominant in the Netherlands and in Flanders in the Seventeenth Century. This one is the work of Michiel Simons. Entitled “Still Life with Fruit, a Lobster and Dead Game,” this late Seventeenth Century work is really the ideal Dutch still life. In addition to showing a household’s wealth—noted with the ability to acquire exotic game, wine (usually served with lemon as it is here) and exceptional serving pieces, these still life paintings were the perfect opportunity for an artist to demonstrate his ability to capture different textures and lighting.

Painting of the Day: Robie's Flowers and Fruit, 1863

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Jean Baptiste Robie (1821-1910) painted this woodland landscape in 1863. The scene depicts a river bank with a still life of ferns, pink and white flowers and a basket of raspberries. The canvas is signed with the artists’ name, the year and “Brussels.”

Robie was a Belgian artist who primarily painted flower and fruit still lifes in the tradition of Dutch still life painters of the Seventeenth Century. However, Robie introduced a new, brighter color palette and themes better suited to the Romantic style.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Bizarre Dutch Still Life, c. 1660

Still Life with Fruit, Lobster and Silver Vessels

Willem van Aelst, 1660-1670

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This is about as Dutch as a still life can get. The Dutch (and the Flemish), especially in the Seventeenth Century, had a love of canvases of scenes of tables laden with dead animals, overripe fruit and shiny objects. Sometimes these scenes would be given an added dimension by including living figures—usually animals—interwoven within the foodstuffs. Here, dating between 1670 and 1680, we have a still life with fruit, flowers, lobster, dead birds, shells, fine porcelain and silverware on a creased red and blue tablecloth. The scene is adorned by the presence of three living animals--a dog, a parrot and a monkey—and is further heightened in drama by the presence of a rather vulgar grimacing man behind a very Dutch window in the background.


This is most likely the work of Willem van Aelst (1627-1687) who was born in Delft where he trained with his uncle, Evert van Alest (1602-57), a celebrated painter of similar still life works. Willem went to France and Italy where he worked as a court painter, returning to the Netherlands in 1656 where he taught until his death.

Willem had a flare for rendering glassware, precious silverware, fruit and flowers and was celebrated for the symmetry of his compositions. 

Painting of the Day: Antoine Margry's "Flowers in a Vase," 1849

"Flowers in a Vase"
Antoine Margry, 1849
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Shockingly little is known about the life of French artist Antoine Margry except that he lived in the first half of Nineteenth Century and that he was a painter of flowers who exhibited at the Salon between 1831 and 1847. What little we can surmise about Margry comes from studying his paintings. Clearly, this French painter was influenced by the compositions of Seventeenth-Century Netherlandish still-lifes. Margry expertly parrots these compositions while offering his own stylistic trademarks—an interest in direct observation of nature and a broad hand and technique.

Created in 1849, this canvas has been called simply “Flowers in a Vase.” Here, Margry has realistically rendered a scene of roses, peonies, lilacs, chrysanthemums, bluebells and morning glories, all arranged in an urn-shaped vase standing on a plinth.

Painting of the Day: A Basket of Fruit for the Empire Marketing Board, 1931

Click image to enlarge
Still-Life of Exotic Fruit
Mark Gertler
The Empire Marketing Board, 1931
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painted in 1931 by Mark Gertler (1891-1939), this still-life of a basket holding pineapple, apples, bananas and pears on a cloth-draped table, was commissioned by the Empire Marketing Board.

The Marketing Board had been established in 1926 in order to promote trade with the Colonies and Dominions of the British Empire.  This original painting was one of several lush designs which, through using brilliant, enticing imagery, were commissioned to encourage British people to support these growing industries.  

Posters printed with these paintings, many of which were the work of Gertler in a similarly appealing style, were emblazoned with effective slogans such as "Buy Empire Every Day" and "Follow the Flag in all your Purchases."

Painting of the Day: Antoine Margry's "Flowers in a Vase," 1849

"Flowers in a Vase"
Antoine Margry, 1849
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Shockingly little is known about the life of French artist Antoine Margry except that he lived in the first half of Nineteenth Century and that he was a painter of flowers who exhibited at the Salon between 1831 and 1847. What little we can surmise about Margry comes from studying his paintings. Clearly, this French painter was influenced by the compositions of Seventeenth-Century Netherlandish still-lifes. Margry expertly parrots these compositions while offering his own stylistic trademarks—an interest in direct observation of nature and a broad hand and technique.

Created in 1849, this canvas has been called simply “Flowers in a Vase.” Here, Margry has realistically rendered a scene of roses, peonies, lilacs, chrysanthemums, bluebells and morning glories, all arranged in an urn-shaped vase standing on a plinth.

Unfolding Pictures: The English Garden Fan, 1760-1770

Click image to see startlingly large grapes.
Hand Fan
England, 1760-1770
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Scenes of lush, elegant English gardens were considered suitable and fashionable adornment for hand fans in the late Eighteenth Century. Take, for example, this one, made between 1760 and 1770, which offers a lovely vignette of such a garden populated by a ruined classical colonnade as well as a folly in the shape of a pyramid. It’s quite possible that his folly is also an icehouse.

What’s curious about this fan, making it unlike other British fans of the era, is the fact that the central vignette of the landscape is surrounded by a strangely disproportionate still-life of grapes, peacocks and a spaniel. Still, it’s an attractive fan and in remarkable condition when one considers its age. The leaf is made of vellum and the guards and sticks of carved, painted and gilt ivory.

Painting of the Day: A Still Life with Fruit, Lobster, Monkey and Silver Vessels, 1660-70

Still Life with Fruit, Lobster and Silver Vessels
Willem van Aelst, 1660-1670
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This is about as Dutch as a still life can get. The Dutch (and the Flemish), especially in the Seventeenth Century, had a love of canvases of scenes of tables laden with dead animals, overripe fruit and shiny objects. Sometimes these scenes would be given an added dimension by including living figures—usually animals—interwoven within the foodstuffs. Here, dating between 1670 and 1680, we have a still life with fruit, flowers, lobster, dead birds, shells, fine porcelain and silverware on a creased red and blue tablecloth. The scene is adorned by the presence of three living animals--a dog, a parrot and a monkey—and is further heightened in drama by the presence of a rather vulgar grimacing man behind a very Dutch window in the background.


This is most likely the work of Willem van Aelst (1627-1687) who was born in Delft where he trained with his uncle, Evert van Alest (1602-57), a celebrated painter of similar still life works. Willem went to France and Italy where he worked as a court painter, returning to the Netherlands in 1656 where he taught until his death.

Willem had a flare for rendering glassware, precious silverware, fruit and flowers and was celebrated for the symmetry of his compositions. 

Unfolding Pictures: The English Garden Fan, 1760-1770

Click image to see startlingly large grapes.
Hand Fan
England, 1760-1770
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Scenes of lush, elegant English gardens were considered suitable and fashionable adornment for hand fans in the late Eighteenth Century. Take, for example, this one, made between 1760 and 1770, which offers a lovely vignette of such a garden populated by a ruined classical colonnade as well as a folly in the shape of a pyramid. It’s quite possible that his folly is also an icehouse.

What’s curious about this fan, making it unlike other British fans of the era, is the fact that the central vignette of the landscape is surrounded by a strangely disproportionate still-life of grapes, peacocks and a spaniel. Still, it’s an attractive fan and in remarkable condition when one considers its age. The leaf is made of vellum and the guards and sticks of carved, painted and gilt ivory.

Painting of the Day: A Garland of Flowers Surrounding a Cartouche

Still Life
Jan Pauwel Gillemans
Flanders (Stupid Flanders)
Mid-Seventeenth Century
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This lush painting is the work of the rather mysterious painter Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder (1618-1675). We don’t know too much about this son of a goldsmith who spent his entire life in his native Antwerp. Beyond those few sketchy details, we only can guess about his life based on his work and that of his son, Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Younger (1651-1704) who was also a still-life painter.

Gillemans the Elder was of the “Flemish Stuff on a Table” school of still-life painting. He excelled at depictions of fruit and flowers and used these as a way of hinting at Biblical subject matter. For instance, in the piece pictured above, the fruits and flowers that he has selected allude to the Passion of Christ and have overtones of the Eucharist. The blooms surround a cartouche containing a representation of an angel, and, an eagle sits above the entire composition.

Let’s see if we can read Gillemans’ message. He’s allowed the lower portion of the composition to be overtaken by spiky plants and those with thorns—roses, thistles, hawthorn, blackthorn, rose-hips and raspberries, all of which signify the Crown of Thorns. Above this, we have grapes, wheat stalks, corn, poppies, cornflowers and narcissus—bountiful symbols which work in conjunction with the chalice. The eagle, of course, is a representation of the Resurrection. The butterflies signify the same.

I’m not sure about the parrots. I think they’re just there because they’re groovy.

Besides, those Flemish…they’d put a bird on a table whenever they got a chance. I’m just happy to see these parrots are alive and not in a state of decay like most of the birds in Flemish paintings.

Painting of the Day: Antoine Margry's "Flowers in a Vase," 1849

"Flowers in a Vase"
Antoine Margry, 1849
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Shockingly little is known about the life of French artist Antoine Margry except that he lived in the first half of Nineteenth Century and that he was a painter of flowers who exhibited at the Salon between 1831 and 1847. What little we can surmise about Margry comes from studying his paintings. Clearly, this French painter was influenced by the compositions of Seventeenth-Century Netherlandish still-lifes. Margry expertly parrots these compositions while offering his own stylistic trademarks—an interest in direct observation of nature and a broad hand and technique.

Created in 1849, this canvas has been called simply “Flowers in a Vase.” Here, Margry has realistically rendered a scene of roses, peonies, lilacs, chrysanthemums, bluebells and morning glories, all arranged in an urn-shaped vase standing on a plinth.

Painting of the Day: Still Life with Fruit, a Lobster and Game, Late 17th C.

Still Life with Fruit and Dead Game
Michiel Simons, late Seventeenth C.
The Victoria  & Albert Museum

A stone table has been draped with a sumptuous, dark velvet cloth. Upon it, stands a roemer filled with white wine and a monumental porcelain bowl which has been filled with peaches, apricots, pears and grapes on the vine. A gleaming pewter plate artfully contains almonds and a partially peeled lemon with the voluptuous, curving rind still attached, curling over the table’s edge. A lobster has been placed on the cool surface of the table, along with a loaf of bread, red grapes, a pomegranate, more peaches, plums and pears and five small birds.

This typically Dutch still life is indicative of what I like to call the “Dead Animals/Rotting Fruit” style which was dominant in the Netherlands and in Flanders in the Seventeenth Century. This one is the work of Michiel Simons. Entitled “Still Life with Fruit, a Lobster and Dead Game,” this late Seventeenth Century work is really the ideal Dutch still life. In addition to showing a household’s wealth—noted with the ability to acquire exotic game, wine (usually served with lemon as it is here) and exceptional serving pieces, these still life paintings were the perfect opportunity for an artist to demonstrate his ability to capture different textures and lighting.

Painting of the Day: Fruit Piece with Lemons, Grapes, Plums and Cherries, 1650

Still Life:
Fruit Piece with Lemons, Grapes, Plums and Cherries
Jan Davidsz de Heem, 1650
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This moody still life of lemons, grapes, plums, cherries and buzzing insects is an excellent example of the work the celebrated painter Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-1684).  He was born in Utrecht but settled in the early 1630s in Antwerp, Belgium, maintaining a workshop in Utrecht which he visited quite often in order work with collaborators and pupils, the most famous of which being Abraham Mignon. Two Jan’s sons also became painters: Cornelis de Heem and Jan Jansz. de Heem.

Jan Davidsz de Heem was known for his “vanitas” still-lifes and flower-pieces. Take this one for example.  The fruit, set against a dark background, is overripe to the point of being on the cusp of rotting.  The presence of insects around the fruit suggests decay and reminds us that as humans, when we are at our best and most attractive, we are actually in a state of decay ourselves.  So, in fact, our pride and vanity is foolish since at the point of our greatest lusciousness, we are closer to rotting than ever before.  Yay!  Good times!

De Heem painted this in Antwerp, Belgium around 1650.

Painting of the Day: Composition with Parrots and Fruit, c.1699

Composition with Parrots and Fruit, c. 1699
Click to Enlarge
The Victoria & Albert Museum

 

Painted by Jacob Bogdani (1655-1724), this still-life is entitled “Composition with Parrots and Fruit.”  It was created sometime near 1699, but it’s hard to pinpoint an exact date for any of Bogdani’s work since his style hardly changed at all throughout his lifetime.

Born in Eperjes, Hungary sometime between 1655 and 1660, Jacob Bogdani was the son of a landed gentleman.  Between 1684 and 1686, he was documented as living in Amsterdam.  By June of 1688, he is recorded as living in London where he set up shop as a painter, producing predominately floral pieces.  He found great success and was so prosperous that he was able to  to purchase estates at Finchley, Spalding and Hitchin.

This piece, as with all of his works, shows his desire to create lush and expensive-looking scenes.  He often depicted birds in his still-lifes in order to create a sense of luxury.  Many of the birds in this painting appear in several other of Bogdani’s works. The Scarlet Macaw appears frequently in his pieces.

Bogdani was a favorite painter of King William III who brought the artist into contact with the British gentry, many of whom commissioned works from the artist.

Painting of the Day: Branche de Lys, 1877

Branche de Lys
Henri Fantin-Latoure, 1877
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A delicate floral still-life, this painting is the work of Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) son of the famed Jean-Théodore Fantin-Latour (1805-75).  In 1861 Henri worked in Gustave Courbet's studio for several months as a pupil, working on a period of portraiture before embarking on the primary concentration of flowers paintings and still-lifes for which he is now best known.

This painting is a brilliant example of Fantin-Latour's paintings of flowers—a subject he painted over 500 times.  This example depicts a stem of white lilies whose pure white contrasts against the unyielding dark background. This effect of light and color are characteristic of the new naturalism which arose in French art in the second half of the Nineteenth Century--anticipating the Impressionists' experiments.