Lot 1284 Dα

Jan Philip van Thielen was born into an aristocratic family and could count two of the most important Flemish history painters of his times - Theodoor Rombouts and Erasmus Quellinus the Younger - among his in-laws. Van Thielen began his artistic training under Th. Rombouts in Antwerp and continued under Daniel Seghers. He became a master of the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke in 1641 and his daughter continued the family tradition of still life painting.
Van Thielen specialised in painting floral still lifes and garlands. This form of composition, featuring a garland surrounding a central religious or mythological scene, was developed in Antwerp in the early 17th century by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick van Balen. Van Thielen's tutor Daniel Seghers also played an important role in the establishment of the motif. Van Thielen cooperated with various other painters, including his relative Erasmus Quellinus the Younger, Frans Francken the Younger and Nicolas de Largilliere, for the central figural scenes. This work shows Venus in her attempt to deter her beloved Adonis from participating in the hunt in which he was to meet his death. The mythological scene is surrounded by a garland in van Thielen's typically regular manner, comprising tulips, roses, peonies, viburnum, anemones, narcissi, hyacinths, forget-me-nots, campanuli, morning glories, pinks and irises.