Artwork
Still-Life with Flowers and Fruit
Still-Life with Flowers and Fruit is an oil painting by the Biedermeier artist Eelke Jelles Eelkema. It dates from 1822 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Eelke Jelles Eelkema's 1822 oil painting is classified as a floral painting, with the central subject being a bouquet of flowers combined with fruit.
Eelke Jelles Eelkema's 1822 oil painting is classified as a floral painting, with the central subject being a bouquet of flowers combined with fruit. The work belongs to the still-life genre, in which cut flowers and gathered produce are arranged as the primary focus of the composition.
Within the tradition of floral still life, such bouquets carry long-standing symbolic associations drawn from Dutch and broader European conventions. Flowers and fruit together typically evoke the transience of natural beauty and the abundance of the natural world, while individual blooms and fruits can carry meanings relating to the seasons, mortality, or the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures. The pairing of blossoms with ripe fruit often underscores themes of ripeness, decay, and the passage of time.
Because the work is documented only as a bouquet rather than listing specific species, the precise iconographic program, which particular flowers or fruits are included, cannot be detailed from the available sources.
Technique & Style
Still-Life with Flowers and Fruit is an oil painting executed on canvas in 1822 by Dutch artist Eelke Jelles Eelkema. The work measures 90.5 cm by 76 cm and depicts a bouquet of flowers and fruit, characteristic of the floral painting genre. It was created using oil paint on canvas, reflecting the material and technical conventions of early 19th-century Dutch still-life practice.
The painting is part of the collection of Adriaan van der Hoop and is held by the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Museum.
The formal composition emphasizes careful arrangement and textural contrast within the bouquet, showcasing the artist's handling of light and color to render three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface. The support is canvas, a common medium for easel paintings of this period, and the work remains in stable condition within museum collections.
History & Provenance
The work was painted in 1822 by Eelke Jelles Eelkema.
It entered the public record as part of the collection formed by Adriaan van der Hoop, whose holdings were later transferred to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, where the painting remains today.
The painting is held by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, accessioned as part of the Adriaan van der Hoop collection. It entered the museum’s holdings following Van der Hoop’s bequest in 1854, and is currently displayed within the Rijksmuseum’s permanent collection.
It was included in the 1934 exhibition Meesterwerken uit de verzameling Van der Hoop at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, where it was shown as part of the bequest holdings.
Legacy
The painting continues to be cited in scholarship on early 19th-century Dutch floral art and is regularly featured in exhibitions focused on Dutch still-life traditions. Its composition has been referenced in studies examining the transition from Dutch Golden Age motifs to Romantic sensibilities in Dutch painting. The work is part of the permanent collections of the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum through the Adriaan van der Hoop legacy, ensuring ongoing public access and academic interest.
The legacy of the work is reinforced by its inclusion in major retrospectives of Dutch still-life painting and by its frequent appearance in academic publications on 19th-century European art. Its influence is evident in contemporary analyses of floral symbolism in Dutch art.
Scholars highlight its role in shaping later Dutch floral painting and its representation of domestic abundance in the period.
Overview
Still-Life with Flowers and Fruit is a 19th-century oil painting depicting an arrangement of flowers and fruit in a large, ornate bowl.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Eelke Jelles Eelkema (8 July 1788 – 27 November 1839) was a Dutch painter of landscapes, flowers, and fruit.
