National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: Vase of Flowers
  • Overview
  • Inscription
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

The still life was developed as a separate category of painting in the seventeenth century. Dutch artists worked in a variety of still life traditions that ranged from banquet pieces to paintings focused solely on fruit, shells, books, or flowers. De Heem was one of the most gifted and versatile of these artists, and one of the most influential. His consummate technique allowed him to portray a great variety of textures in a convincing manner. In this flower painting we can delight in his realistic depiction of tulip petals, long bent reeds of wheat, minute animals including butterflies, ants, snails, caterpillars, and finally, reflections on the transparent glass vase.

De Heem also had great compositional sensitivity. Over twenty types of flowers, vegetables, and grains have been brought together here in a way that permits their colors and shapes to balance in an harmonious arrangement. Despite De Heem's realistic depiction, this floral arrangement never actually could have existed. The flowers represented grow at different seasons of the year. In many of his paintings De Heem chose to include specific animals and flowers because of their symbolic meanings; the butterfly, for example, is often a symbol for the Resurrection.

Inscription

lower left on parapet: J.D. De Heem f.

Marks and Labels

null

Provenance

Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild [1808-1879], London; by inheritance to his son, Leopold de Rothschild [1845-1917]; by inheritance to his son, Lionel Nathan de Rothschild [1882-1942], Exbury, Hampshire; by inheritance to his son, Edmund Leopold de Rothschild [1916-2009], Exbury; sold 1947 to (Frank Partridge and Sons, London).[1] Mr. McIntosh, Bridge Allen, Scotland.[2] (William Hallsborough Gallery, London, 1958). (Fritz Nathan and Peter Nathan, Zurich, 1959); (Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York); purchased 17 May 1961 by NGA.

[1] The Rothschild provenance information was kindly provided by Michael Hall, curator to Edmund de Rothschild; see his "Rothschild Picture Provenances" from 1999 and letter of 27 February 2002, in NGA curatorial files, in which he cites relevant documents in The Rothschild Archive, London.

[2] The McIntosh name is provided by Nathan and Nathan; see their letter of 24 September 1959, in NGA curatorial files.

Exhibition History

1958
Exhibition of Fine Paintings and Drawings of Four Centuries, William Hallsborough Gallery, London, 1958.
1991
Jan Davidsz. de Heem en zijn kring, Centraal Museum, Utrecht; Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig, 1991, no. 30.
1991
The Age of the Marvelous, Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 1991-1992, no. 157, repro.
1995
Dutch Cabinet Galleries, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1995-1996, no catalogue.
1998
A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 25.
1999
From Botany to Bouquets: Flowers in Northern Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999, no. 16, fig. 55.
2006
De verleiding van Flora: Jan van Huysum 1682-1749 (The Temptations of Flora: Jan van Huysum 1682-1749), Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2006-2007, no. P4, repro., as Flower Piece with White Opium Poppy and Peapods.

Bibliography

1958
Bury, Adrian. "Fine Paintings and Drawings of Four Centuries at the William Hallsborough Galleries." The Connoisseur 141, no. 569 (May 1958): 175-177.
1958
Nicholson, Benedict. "Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions." The Burlington Magazine 100 (May 1958): 145.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 198, repro.
1964
Walker, John. National Gallery, Washington. Paris, 1964: 198-199, color repro.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 66.
1965
Pavière, Sydney H. Floral Art: Great Masters of Flower Painting. Leigh-on-Sea, 1965: 20, colorplate 7.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 58, repro.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 172, repro.
1978
King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 42, pl. 20.
1982
Segal, Sam. A Flowery Past: A Survey of Dutch and Flemish Flower Painting from 1600 until the Present. Exh. cat. Gallery P. de Boer, Amsterdam; Noordbrabants Museum, 's-Hertogenbosch. Amsterdam and 's-Hertogenbosch, 1982: 12-25.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 306, no. 403, color repro.
1984
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Painting in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1984: 18-19, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 199, repro.
1988
Grimm, Claus. Stilleben: die niederländischen und deutschen Meister. Stuttgart, 1988: 143.
1989
Meijer, Fred G. Stillevens uit de Gouden Eeuw. Exh. cat. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1989: no. 23.
1989
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. "Still Life: Its Visual Appeal and Theoretical Status in the Seventeenth Century." In Still Life of the Golden Age: Northern European Paintings from the Heinz Family Coll.. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington and Museum of Fine Art, Boston, 1989: 11-25, no. 28.
1991
The Age of the Marvelous. Exh. cat. Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 1991-1992: 381, no. 157, repro.
1991
Segal, Sam, and Liesbeth Helmus. Jan Davidsz. de Heem en zijn kring. Exh. cat. Central Museum, Utrecht; Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig. The Hague, 1991: no. 30 (also German ed., Jan Davidsz. de Heem und sein Kreis, Braunschweig, 1991).
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 127, repro.
1995
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 103-106, color repro. 105.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 190-191, no. 152, color repro.
2012
Wheelock, Arthur K. “’Guillelmo’ in Amsterdam: Van Aelst’s Painterly Style in Amsterdam.” In Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst. Exh. cat. Houston and Washington 2012. New York, 2012: 42-43, color fig. 7. (Not in the exhibition.)

Related Works

Related Resources

  • Event Type
    Event Name
    March 1–June 1
    Mon, Tues, and Wed at 1:00
    March 5, 2012 at 2:00
    March 7, 2012 at 4:00
    East Building, Auditorium
    Name of docent
    image:
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum
    60 minutes
    Registration for this event begins on April 1, 2012 at noon.
    Register for this event
    Download the program notes (100k)
  • Self-Guided Tour
    Italian Collection
    image:
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum