Flowers in a Vase

c. 1700

Philip van Kouwenbergh

Artist, Dutch, 1671 - 1729

A profusion of flowers mostly in ruby red, bright white, and flamingo pink are gathered in a bronze-colored urn, set on a stone ledge against a dark background in this vertical still life painting. A band of flowers reaching from the lower left to the upper right draw the eye, and are made up of a pink rose at the bottom under a white rose, a white-and-red streaked tulip, and a crimson-red poppy near the upper right. Other flowers include a sprig of pale, nearly white lilac to the left, sapphire-blue morning glories, golden stalks of wheat, and green leaves interspersed throughout. The urn has a fluted, flaring foot. Upon closer inspection we find that the foot must belong to a much larger vessel, for a terracotta-colored person reclining next to a stylized fish emerges from behind the flowers at the upper left. An ivory-white butterfly with an orange spot on each wing alights on the tulip, whose petals are spread wide. A snail with a marmalade-orange shell with a thin, shiny, black spiral crawls along the ledge to our right, and on the stone ledge to our left, an earwig eats a honey-yellow caterpillar. The flowers and insects are brightly lit from our left, and the chocolate-brown background is swallowed in shadow. A partially legible inscription in the lower right reads, “Kouwe be h.”

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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

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William Draper Blair

  • 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


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