A bouquet of flowers in a glass vase set in a stone niche with insects. Fred Meijer has recently (February, 2010) reattributed the work to C.B. Voet (oral communication) based on photographs only. Carel Borchaert Voet (1671-1743) is a little known still-life painter born in Zwolle (Northern Holland) who worked principally in The Hague and Dordrecht. His principal patron, by whom he was engaged from circa 1689 and whom he accompanied to England on numerous occasions, was Hans Willem Bentinck, later Earl of Portland. There is a fruit still-life by Voet in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper and have been several on the art market in London and New York.
Physical description
A bouquet of flowers in a glass vase set in a stone niche with insects
Date
ca. 1686-1743 (painted)
Artist/maker
Voet, Carel Borchaert, born 1671 - died 1743 (attributed to, painter (artist))
Materials and Techniques
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Height: 48.2 cm estimate, Width: 40.5 cm estimate
Object history note
Purchased, 1859
Historical significance: Fred Meijer has recently (February, 2010) reattributed the work to C.B. Voet (oral communication) based on photographs only. Carel Borchaert Voet (1671-1743) is a little known still-life painter born in Zwolle (Northern Holland) who worked principally in The Hague and Dordrecht. His principal patron, by whom he was engaged from circa 1689 and whom he accompanied to England on numerous occasions, was Hans Willem Bentinck, later Earl of Portland. There is a fruit still-life by Voet in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Quimper (inv.nr. 873-1-195) and have been several on the art market in London (ie. Sotheby's 1995-12-06) and New York (ie. Christie's, 1988-06-02).
Historical context note
The term ‘still life’ conventionally refers to works depicting an arrangement of diverse inanimate objects including fruits, flowers, shellfish, vessels and artefacts. The term derives from the Dutch 'stilleven', which became current from about 1650 as a collective name for this type of subject matter. Still-life reached the height of its popularity in Western Europe, especially in the Netherlands, during the 17th century although still-life subjects already existed in pre-Classical, times. Dutch painters played a major role the development of this genre, inventing distinctive variations on the theme over the course of the century while Flemish artist Frans Snyders' established a taste for banquet pieces. These works were developed further in Antwerp by the Dutchman Jan Davidsz. de Heem (1606-1684) who created opulent baroque confections of fruit, flowers, and precious vessels that became a standardized decorative type throughout Europe. Scholarly opinion had long been divided over how all of these images should be understood. The exotic fruits and valuable objects often depicted testify to the prosperous increase in wealth in cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem but may also function as memento mori, or vanitas, that is, reminders of human mortality and invitations to meditate upon the passage of time.
Descriptive line
Oil painting, 'Flowers in a Dutch Vase', attributed to Rachel Ruysch
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Kauffmann, C.M. Catalogue of Foreign Paintings, I. Before 1800. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1973, p. 253-255, cat. no. 316.
The following is the full text of the entry:
Rachel RUYSCH (1664-1750)
Dutch School
Born in Amsterdam in 1664, she was a pupil of Willem van Ae1st. In 1695 she married the painter Juriaen Pool and in 1701 she entered the painters' guild at The Hague. From 1708 until 1716 she was court-painter to Johann Wilhelm, Count Palatine, who bought most of her pictures of this period. She appears to have spent most of the rest of her life in Amsterdam; there are dated works until 1747.
Rachel Ruysch was essentially a painter of still life. Closely dependent on Willem van Aelst, she continued to use the dark tones and especially the dark backgrounds of the older generation long after they had been discarded by her contemporaries.
Lit. M. H. Grant, Rachel Ruysch, Leigh-on-Sea, 1956.
Ascribed to Rachel RUYSCH
316
FLOWERS IN A DUTCH VASE
Canvas
19 X 16 (48.2 X 40.5)
4729-1859
The old attribution (1893 Catalogue, p. 185) is here retained for want of a more convincing alternative.
Prov. Bought in 1859
Production Note
This work was attributed to Rachel Ruysch in the 1893 catalogue and again in the 1973 Catalouge 'for want of a more convincing alternative.' Fred Meijer has recently (February 2010) reattributed the work to C.B. Voet (oral communication) based on photographs only.
Materials
Oil paint; Canvas
Techniques
Oil painting
Subjects depicted
Flowers; Insects; Vase; Still life
Categories
Paintings
Collection code
PDP
