Study of a Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe)
Watercolour
18th century (painted)
18th century (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Jan van Huysum was probably the greatest painter of flower pieces in the 18th century. His paintings are complex compositions characterised by arabesque curves, an emphasis on rich colour, a sheen on leaves and petals, and a Rococo-style elegance. The flower piece was a decorative composition bringing together flowers that would never bloom simultaneously in nature. To create such a composition an artist would work through the seasons to build up a collection of drawings and watercolour studies, such as this, to work from. It is sometimes possible to identify the flower seen in a sketch in a finished oil painting, and even to find the same flower repeated in different paintings.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Watercolour over graphite; mounted on another support, with framing line in black chalk |
| Brief description | Watercolour 'Study of a Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), Anonymous Dutch, watercolour, ?18th century |
| Physical description | Study of a blueish purple flower in pale colours |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Object history | Acquired (together with cat. nos. 94–5) by the museum (hybrid dry stamp that combines L. 31 with border of L. 711bis), perhaps between 13 December 1864 and 21 January 1865. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Jan van Huysum was probably the greatest painter of flower pieces in the 18th century. His paintings are complex compositions characterised by arabesque curves, an emphasis on rich colour, a sheen on leaves and petals, and a Rococo-style elegance. The flower piece was a decorative composition bringing together flowers that would never bloom simultaneously in nature. To create such a composition an artist would work through the seasons to build up a collection of drawings and watercolour studies, such as this, to work from. It is sometimes possible to identify the flower seen in a sketch in a finished oil painting, and even to find the same flower repeated in different paintings. |
| Bibliographic reference | Jane Shoaf Turner and Christopher White, Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, vol. II, Cat. 645, illus. p.582. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 4274 |
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| Record created | December 17, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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