Artwork
Flower piece with butterflies
Flower piece with butterflies is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Ottmar Elliger. It dates from 1667 and is held in the collection of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1667, this oil painting presents a delicate arrangement of a single rose accompanied by several butterflies set against a muted backdrop. Executed by the Flemish artist Ottmar Elliger, the work exemplifies the meticulous naturalism characteristic of mid‑seventeenth‑century flower painting.
Subject & Meaning
The central motif, a freshly opened rose, symbolizes transience and beauty, while the fluttering butterflies introduce a sense of movement and the fleeting nature of life. Together they form a quiet still life that invites contemplation of the interplay between flora and fauna.
Technique & Style
Elliger employs a refined Baroque palette, using layered glazes to achieve luminous petals and the iridescent sheen of butterfly wings. The composition is anchored by a neutral ground, allowing the vivid colors to emerge with clarity, a hallmark of his training under Daniel Seghers in Antwerp.
History & Provenance
Born in Gothenburg in 1633, Elliger worked across several Dutch and German cities before his appointment as court painter to Friedrich Wilhelm in Berlin in 1670. The painting entered the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, where it remains on display.
Context
The work belongs to the Dutch Golden Age, a period when flower still lifes flourished as symbols of wealth, scientific curiosity, and the transient beauty of nature. Elliger’s Flemish background and his connections to Antwerp’s artistic circles informed his precise rendering of botanical subjects.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ottmar Elliger (1633–1679) was a Flemish Baroque flower painter. According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History, he was born in Gothenburg, but he was trained in Antwerp by Daniel Seghers. His earliest dated…
