Flowerpiece
1811
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
107.3 × 82.3 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1934
Gallery location
17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
The Flemish artist Jean François van Dael started out painting portraits, decorative and religious subjects, but his career changed direction when he met the flower painter Gerard van Spaendonck in Paris, and became his best pupil. Van Dael’s glowing and minutely finished nature studies were greatly admired by Napoleon’s consorts, Joséphine and Marie Louise. In 1810 the Louvre director Vivant-Denon wrote to the emperor of Fleming’s peerless talent: ‘As for the art of painting animals flower and fruit … Redouté and van Dael have matched the ancient Flemish painters Berghem, van der Does and van Huysum and surpassed all the others’.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in brown and grey paint l.r.: VANDAEL / 1811
Accession Number
215-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Botanical Still Lifes
Subjects (specific)
butterflies (general) flower (plant material) flower pieces flower vases grape (berry fruit) peaches (fruits)