Artwork
Flower Piece
Flower Piece is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Franz Werner Tamm. It dates from 1700 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Tamm’s meticulous rendering of texture and light underscores the work’s function as both a decorative composition and a contemplative meditation on mortality.
The painting depicts a bouquet of assorted blossoms arranged on a dark surface, a conventional still‑life arrangement that emphasizes the fleeting beauty of nature. The flowers carry symbolic associations of transience and divine creation common in Northern European still‑life of the late 17th century, reflecting contemporary moral and theological concerns about the ephemeral nature of earthly pleasures. Tamm’s meticulous rendering of texture and light underscores the work’s function as both a decorative composition and a contemplative meditation on mortality.
Technique & Style
Flower Piece is an oil painting on canvas created by Franz Werner Tamm in 1698. The work measures 1345.0 cm in height and 975.0 cm in width, characteristic of the still life genre. Its formal qualities include a restrained palette and precise rendering of botanical forms, reflecting the artist’s attention to surface texture and compositional balance.
The painting’s condition is stable, with no documented alterations to the original oil medium or support. Handling practices align with standard conservation protocols for 17th-century canvas works, preserving the integrity of the paint layer and ground.
History & Provenance
The Flower Piece was painted in 1698 by the German still‑life specialist Franz Werner Tamm. Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures approximately 134.5 cm high by 97.5 cm wide. No earlier owners or commission records are documented in the available sources; the painting entered the holdings of the Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) in Copenhagen, where it is currently catalogued as KMS1028 and remains on display as part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Overview
Created in 1700, this oil painting by Franz Werner Tamm presents a still‑life arrangement of flowers spilling from a narrow vase. The composition is set against a deep, shadowy backdrop that heightens the visual impact of the blooms. The work is part of the collection at the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is displayed among other examples of early‑18th‑century Dutch still life.
Artist & collection
