Flowers in a Rococo Vase

Paul Cézanne painted Flowers in a Rococo Vase in 1876 in oil on canvas. The work was probably given by the artist to the painter and collector Gustave Caillebotte in Paris, and it remained in the Caillebotte estate until 1932. According to John Rewald's catalogue raisonné, Caillebotte bequeathed the painting to the French state, but the bequest was refused.

The painting subsequently passed through Galerie André Weil in Paris and Galerie Étienne Bignow in Paris before being sold on 29 November 1932 to the American collector Chester Dale in New York, as recorded in Dale's papers held in the National Gallery of Art curatorial files. Dale retained the work until his death in 1962, after which it was bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in 1963.

The painting Flowers in a Rococo Vase is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 1963 as a bequest from Chester Dale. Although John Rewald's catalogue raisonné notes that Gustave Caillebotte originally intended to bequeath the work to the French state, the offer was refused, and the piece remained in his estate until 1932. Following its time in Caillebotte's possession, the work passed through the galleries of André Weil and Étienne Bignou in Paris before being sold to Dale on November 29, 1932.

The National Gallery of Art retains the work as part of its permanent collection, cataloging it under the accession records associated with the Dale bequest.

Paul Cézanne's oil on canvas, Flowers in a Rococo Vase, created around 1876, presents a still life composition. The painting features a vibrant arrangement of flowers contained within an elaborately decorated rococo-style vase. This work reflects Cézanne's early engagement with the still life genre, a subject he would revisit frequently throughout his career, often exploring domestic objects and natural forms.

This still life dates to a period following Cézanne's relocation from Paris to the French countryside. His new environment fostered a focus on accessible, domestic subjects, such as flowers and fruit, which he explored repeatedly. This iterative process allowed him to delve deeply into the formal qualities of objects, a foundational practice that informed his subsequent artistic developments.