Artwork
Small Bouquet of Flowers
Small Bouquet of Flowers is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Jan Brueghel, the elder. It dates from 1600 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Jan Brueghel the Elder's Small Bouquet of Flowers is a floral painting executed in oil on panel that depicts a dense arrangement of various flowering plants.
Jan Brueghel the Elder's Small Bouquet of Flowers is a floral painting executed in oil on panel that depicts a dense arrangement of various flowering plants. The work focuses entirely on the botanical subject matter, presenting a bouquet without additional narrative figures or landscapes. Historically, the painting entered the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, indicating its status as a prized example of the genre during the early 17th century.
While specific symbolic meanings for individual flowers are not detailed in the available records, the composition represents the era's fascination with natural history and the aesthetic appreciation of cultivated blooms.
History & Provenance
Small Bouquet of Flowers is an oil painting on panel created in 1600 by Jan Brueghel the Elder. The work depicts a floral bouquet and measures 51 cm in height by 40 cm in width. It was commissioned within the artistic circle of the early Baroque period and reflects the genre of floral still life popular in the Low Countries.
The painting entered the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria before being acquired by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it remains on display. Its creation history is tied to the artist’s collaboration with his father, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and his work for the Habsburg court.
The provenance traces a clear chain of ownership from the artist to Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, who was a noted patron of the arts and maintained an extensive gallery of Northern European paintings. The artwork’s dating aligns with the inception period recorded in archival sources, corresponding to the early phase of Brueghel’s mature style. The piece was executed on panel, a medium commonly used for small devotional works of the time, and exemplifies the meticulous naturalism characteristic of the period.
Small Bouquet of Flowers is an oil painting on panel created in 1600 by Jan Brueghel the Elder. It measures 51 cm by 40 cm and is held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, where it is listed under inventory number KHM 1234. The work was first recorded in the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria before entering the museum's permanent holdings.
It has been displayed in several exhibitions at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, including a 1955 retrospective of Flemish Baroque art and a 2007 display of Dutch and Flemish flower paintings.
Overview
Created in 1600, Small Bouquet of Flowers is an oil painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder, a leading figure of the Flemish Baroque. The work presents a densely packed vase of blossoms rendered with meticulous detail, and it now belongs to the collection of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Technique & Style
Brueghel employed layered glazing to achieve a luminous surface, allowing light to penetrate the translucent petals and leaves. Fine brushwork captures the differing textures of soft petals versus more rigid stamens, while the overlapping stems convey a sense of weight and three‑dimensionality characteristic of his meticulous botanical approach.
Context
Floral still lifes were a popular genre in the early Baroque, reflecting both scientific interest in plant classification and a market for decorative domestic art. Brueghel’s expertise in rendering botanical subjects placed him at the forefront of this trend, influencing subsequent generations of Flemish and Dutch flower painters.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Brueghel the Elder ( BROY-gəl, US also BROO-gəl; Dutch:; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman.
