The opening of the Chelsea Flower Show this week seems a good moment to shine a spotlight on flower painters as we have in our inventory a lovely small group of flower paintings by some of the early specialists of the genre.

Although a few examples of autonomous flower paintings from before 1600 are known, the floral still life only emerged as a fully-fledged artistic genre in the first decade of the 17th century.  Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder was one of the key figures in its development.  Originally from Antwerp, he settled first in Middelburg, a wealthy trading city renowned for its gardens, and later in Utrecht.    In his lifetime he became famous for his meticulously crafted bouquets of flowers arranged symmetrically in a vase, and was handsomely rewarded for them.  Through his pupils, including his three sons and his brother-in-law Balthasar van der Ast, Bosschaert established a tradition of flower painting that lived on until the middle of the 17th century and beyond.    

We are delighted to present here a magnificent still life by Bosschaert depicting a vase of flowers standing in a niche that dates from the very end of his life.  Also represented are two early paintings by his eldest son and namesake Ambrosius Bosschaert the Younger, and one by Jan Baptist van Fornenburgh, an artist from The Hague who fell within the Bosschaert spere of influence. 

The Jesuit priest Daniel Seghers was another famous flower painter.  A pupil of the great Flemish master Jan Brueghel the Elder, Seghers devoted his life to painting floral garlands and still lifes.  His works were, however, rarely offered for sale, but were presented by the Jesuits as diplomatic gifts to the rulers of Europe, or used to decorate their churches and monastic houses.  We are pleased to be able to offer a characteristically refined example of his exquisite small paintings depicting two striped tulips and a rose in a glass vase. 

For full details and descriptions of these paintings please go to the “Paintings” section of this website.