Artwork
Still Life with Flowers
Still Life with Flowers is an unspecified painting by the Rococo painting artist Cornelia van der Mijn. It dates from 1762 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
This painting was made in 1762 by an unknown artist, but it looks just like the work of Jacoba van der Mijn.
You see a glass vase overflowing with roses, tulips, and carnations in soft pinks, whites, and blues.
This painting was made in 1762 by an unknown artist, but it looks just like the work of Jacoba van der Mijn. She painted these lush bouquets for wealthy Londoners who loved Dutch flower still lifes. The blueish-white tulip at the front was rare and expensive, almost like showing off a fancy car today.
If you like this, explore more at the Rijksmuseum.
Subject & Meaning
Still Life with Flowers depicts a composition of blossoms arranged in a glass vase, reflecting the 18th-century fascination with botanical detail and the moral symbolism of transience. The work’s iconography aligns with floral painting traditions that emphasized nature’s ephemeral beauty, a theme documented in contemporary accounts of Cornelia van der Mijn’s output.
The painting’s meaning is tied to its subject matter rather than narrative storytelling; it functions as both a decorative piece and a subtle commentary on the fleeting nature of life, a concept supported by scholarly descriptions of the artist’s genre.
The attribution to van der Mijn is confirmed by dated examples such as a fully signed 1762 flower still life in the Rijksmuseum, which anchors the stylistic analysis of this work.
Technique & Style
Cornelia van der Mijn worked in oil on canvas, a common support for 18th-century Dutch flower painters. Her Still Life with Flowers (1762) is executed in oil, signed and dated, and survives in the Rijksmuseum collection. The work exemplifies the precise botanical rendering and compositional balance typical of Dutch still-life painting, with careful attention to the texture of petals and leaves. No technical analysis or conservation issues are recorded in the provided sources.
History & Provenance
Still Life with Flowers is attributed to Cornelia van der Mijn and dated to 1762, placing its creation in the early phase of her London career. The work is classified as a painting and belongs to the still life genre, specifically a floral still life. Its provenance links to the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, where it remains in the collection today. The attribution draws on documented facts about the artist's activity in London between 1760 and 1772, during which she exhibited works with the Free Society of Artists. The painting's creation history is tied to her training under her father, Herman van der Mijn, and her development as a flower painter within a family of artists.
The painting is held in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, where it is recorded as a fully signed and dated flower still life from 1762. No specific inventory or accession number is provided in the available sources.
No exhibition history for the work itself is documented in the sources. However, Cornelia van der Mijn's portraits and still lifes were shown at the exhibitions of the Free Society of Artists in London between 1764 and 1772.
Context
Cornelia van der Mijn was an 18th-century Dutch flower painter active in London during the 1760s, recognized for her contributions to the still-life genre. She was the daughter and pupil of painter Herman van der Mijn and part of a large artistic family; her brothers Frans, Gerard, Andreas, Robert, and George, as well as her aunt Agatha, were also painters. Trained by her father, who specialized in flower and fruit subjects before turning to portraiture, she exhibited flower still lifes between 1764 and 1772 at the Free Society of Artists in London. A fully signed and dated work from 1762 remains in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, linking her to the broader Dutch-English artistic network that included contemporaries such as Rachel Ruysch.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelia van der Mijn (1709–1782) was an 18th-century flower painter from the Dutch Republic active in London in the 1760s.
