Flowers in a Vase
c. 1700
Artist, Dutch, 1671 - 1729
Philip van Kouwenbergh is a relatively unknown Amsterdam artist whose total oeuvre may comprise fewer than twenty still-life paintings. This bold flower arrangement, organized along a diagonal, surrounds an elaborate earthenware urn. Van Kouwenbergh has included roses, poppies, morning glories, white lilacs, stalks of wheat, and a butterfly, as well as a snail and other insects. The urn is surmounted by a whimsical sculpture of a boy swimming with a sea creature.
None of Van Kouwenbergh’s paintings are dated, but they were on the open market by 1694, at which time he must have been an independent master. Based on the stylistic similarities to paintings by his purported master Elias van den Broeck (c. 1650–1708), this decorative still life probably stems from the early part of Van Kouwenbergh’s career.
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 67 × 51 cm (26 3/8 × 20 1/16 in.)
framed: 88.9 × 71.76 × 11.43 cm (35 × 28 1/4 × 4 1/2 in.) -
Accession
1976.26.2
More About this Artwork
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Probably by inheritance to Viscount de Beughem, Brussels; by inheritance to his niece, Mary Eula Mason Blair [1906 -1983], and her husband, William Draper Blair [1902-1993], Washington, D.C.;[1] gift 1976 to NGA.
[1] Provenance from notes in NGA curatorial files.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1989
Extended loan for use by Secretary Robert Mosbacher, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1989-1993.
1993
Extended loan for use by Secretary Ron Brown, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1993-1997.
1997
Extended loan for use by Secretary William M. Daley, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1997-1999.
Bibliography
1985
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 217, repro.
1991
Wagenberg-Ter Hoeven, Anke A. van. "Nog een bloemstuk van Philip van Kouwenbergh (1671–1729)." Antiek 26 (1991): 252-255, repro.
1995
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 152-154, color repro. 153.
Inscriptions
lower right: [P] Kouwe[]be[]h
Wikidata ID
Q20177704