Jean-Baptiste MONNOYER (Lille, 1636 — London, 1699) Bouquet of Flowers

Jean Baptiste MONNOYER (Lille, 1636 — London, 1699)
Bouquet of flowers on a stone entablature
Oil on canvas, 74 x 61 cm
Certificate by Mrs Claudia SALVI

The composition, featuring a soberly moulded and slightly worn stone entablature on which an antique vase decorated with florist's flowers is placed, is characteristic of the painter. By choosing double and extra-double varieties discreetly mixed with less spectacular perennial varieties, Monnoyer aims to prevent the eye from getting lost in the proliferation of details that would ruin the unity of the ‘whole’, characteristic of the politics of the Grand Siècle. All these flowers appear wrinkled, even tormented, as if they were being buffeted by a light breeze. They yield under the weight of their corollas and some fall, as if exhausted, onto the pavement. This is a typical feature of Monnoyer's art.
Similarly, the palette he uses here is limited, and although it is dominated by pinks and carmine red, the overall tone is silvery and cold. The exceptional condition of the pictorial surface is remarkable. It allows us to appreciate the beauty of the details – the diversity of textures, the satin sheen of the poppy bud on the left, the hatched, moist light on the acanthus leaf emerging from the vase, and the intangible lightness of the pale roses in the centre.
The painting is typical of the artist's early maturity and was painted in the first quarter of the 1670s.