Artwork
Still life with flowers and fruit
Still life with flowers and fruit is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Jan van Huysum. It dates from 1721 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created in 1721, this oil painting presents a carefully arranged still life of blossoms and fruit set against a deep, neutral background.
About this work
Technique & Style
Formal qualities include a symmetrical arrangement of blooms, peonies, roses, and tulips, against a dark, neutral background that heightens their luminosity.
The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel support measuring 81 cm in height and 61 cm in width. Van Huysum’s handling is characterized by meticulous layering and fine brushwork, enabling the depiction of delicate petals and translucent blossoms alongside the solid forms of fruit. The composition balances dense botanical detail with a restrained yet luminous palette, emphasizing texture and light through subtle glazing.
Formal qualities include a symmetrical arrangement of blooms, peonies, roses, and tulips, against a dark, neutral background that heightens their luminosity. The still-life genre conventions are evident in the careful staging of perishable subjects, rendered with botanical precision and a refined sense of spatial recession.
History & Provenance
The work was painted by Jan van Huysum in 1721, as indicated by the artist’s dated signature on the canvas. By the late eighteenth century it had entered the Amsterdam collection of Margaretha Catharina van Lennep, whose ownership is recorded in the work’s later provenance. The painting subsequently passed into the holdings of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it remains in the museum’s collection.
The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
It carries the inventory number SK-C-1351 and is recorded under accession “SK-C-1351” in the museum’s holdings.
The work was exhibited in 2015 as part of the Rijksmuseum’s display of 17th- and 18th-century still lifes.
Overview
Created in 1721, this oil painting presents a carefully arranged still life of blossoms and fruit set against a deep, neutral background. The composition centers on a vase filled with white, pink and orange flowers, while clusters of grapes and ripe peaches lie nearby, their vivid hues amplified by the surrounding darkness.
Subject & Meaning
The work juxtaposes the transient beauty of fresh flowers with the enduring richness of fruit, a common motif in Dutch still life that alludes to the fleeting nature of life and the pleasures of the senses. The harmonious grouping invites contemplation of natural abundance and the skill required to capture it.
Context
During the early 1700s, Dutch artists continued to refine the still-life genre, integrating influences from the Rococo movement that favored ornate yet refined visual effects. This piece exemplifies that blend, combining the Dutch emphasis on realistic detail with a lighter, more decorative sensibility characteristic of the era.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jan van Huysum (or Jan van Huijsum) (15 April 1682 – 8 February 1749) is the most notable member of the Van Huysum family of artists working in Dutch Golden Age of the 17th and 18th centuries; "by common consent, Jan…
