Artwork
Chinese porcelain vase of flowers on a tabletop
Chinese porcelain vase of flowers on a tabletop is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Jan Brueghel, the elder. It dates from 1609 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting belongs to the floral painting genre, specifically depicting a bouquet arranged within a vase.
The painting belongs to the floral painting genre, specifically depicting a bouquet arranged within a vase. The composition centers on a Chinese porcelain vase of flowers set upon a tabletop. This choice of subject reflects the early seventeenth-century European fascination with both exotic imported ceramics and detailed botanical studies, presenting the arrangement as a celebration of material luxury and natural variety.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in oil paint on a support measuring 66 cm in height by 50.5 cm in width, a relatively intimate vertical format suited to a closely observed still life. The medium is consistent with Jan Brueghel the Elder's characteristic cabinet-picture practice, in which thin, translucent layers of oil glazes are built up to render the porcelain vessel and its bouquet with enamel-like precision.
Stylistically, the painting belongs to the floral still-life genre, situating a Chinese porcelain vase and its bouquet on a tabletop as the central motif. The composition treats the glazed ceramic and the arrangement of blooms with the meticulous surface description and refined finish associated with Brueghel's early seventeenth-century flower paintings.
No specific condition reports, conservation history, or detailed handling notes are documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The painting is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it is inventoried as accession 1049. It was painted in 1609 by Jan Brueghel the Elder and depicts a floral bouquet in a vase on a tabletop.
The work has not been recorded in any exhibition history according to available documentation.
Overview
Jan Brueghel the Elder painted Chinese porcelain vase of flowers on a tabletop in 1609. Executed in oil on canvas, the work belongs to the early Flemish Baroque period and is presently housed in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Context
The work reflects the early 17th‑century Flemish fascination with exotic objects, particularly Chinese porcelain, which were prized luxury items. Brueghel’s inclusion of such a vase alongside a lush, locally familiar floral arrangement illustrates the cross‑cultural tastes of his aristocratic patrons.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Brueghel the Elder ( BROY-gəl, US also BROO-gəl; Dutch:; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman.
