Still Life with a Vase of Flowers and a Dog

Juan van der Hamen created the oil-on-canvas painting Still Life with a Vase of Flowers and a Dog during the mid-1620s. While some records indicate an inception date of January 1, 1625, other cataloging assigns the work to the year 1627. The piece measures 228.5 cm in height and 100.5 cm in width.

It currently resides in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The work has been featured in exhibitions dedicated to the Golden Age, including El Siglo de Oro. The Age of Velázquez.

Juan van der Hamen y León's Still Life with a Vase of Flowers and a Dog (1625) exemplifies the refined naturalism and compositional balance prized in Spanish Baroque still life. Art historians note its meticulous rendering of textures and inclusion of symbolic objects like a clock, reflecting contemporary interests in transience and scientific observation. The work is situated within the broader context of 17th-century Spanish painting, where artists such as van der Hamen contributed to a flourishing tradition of tabletop depictions that blended decorative elegance with moralizing undertones.

Its placement in the Museo del Prado's collection and prior exhibition in El Siglo de Oro. The Age of Velázquez underscores its recognized significance within the narrative of Spanish Golden Age art.

The painting's inclusion in the 2011 exhibition El Siglo de Oro. The Age of Velázquez highlighted its significance within Baroque Spanish art and contributed to renewed scholarly interest in van der Hamen's oeuvre. Its representation of everyday objects alongside symbolic items like a clock reflects compositional strategies later embraced by European still-life painters, influencing the development of vanitas themes in the 17th century.

The work's presence in the Museo del Prado's collection ensures continued public access and academic study, cementing its reputation as a key example of Spanish Golden Age still-life painting.

Juan van der Hamen’s 1625 oil painting presents a modest domestic tableau: a richly gilded vase brimming with multicoloured blossoms rests on a darkened table, flanked by a small round box and a brass clock. A black‑and‑white spaniel sits attentively before the arrangement, its head turned toward the left. The deep background intensifies the vivid hues of the flowers and the animal’s coat, creating a balanced, refined still life.