Lot 2027 Dα

Laurens Bol referred to the Bosschaert family, which shaped the genre of floral still life in the northern Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century, as a dynasty. Not only were Ambrosius Bosschaert, his three sons and his brother-in-law Balthasar van der Ast active in this genre. Ambrosius, the founder of the dynasty, was also active in a number of Dutch cities, in Middelburg, Amsterdam, Bergen op Zoom, Utrecht and Breda, so that the influence was not limited to one city or one region. Johannes Bosschaert, the author of this floral still life, was the second son of Ambrosius, and was the most talented of the three sons; Laurens Bol has called him a prodigy.

Johannes was born around 1610/11. As early as 1626, when he was 15 years old, he became a member of the Guild of St Luke in Dordrecht. He must have died early, because after 1628 there are no more works by him (Laurens J. Bol: The Bosschaert Dynasty, Painters of Flowers and Fruit, Leigh-on-Sea 1960, p. 40ff). His artistic beginnings probably lie in his father's workshop, but he died in 1621, when Johannes was only about ten years old. His art shows the influence of his uncle Balthasar van der Ast, who will have taken him into his workshop after his father's death.

This floral still life unites in a round green glass vase roses in white and pink, forget-me-nots, columbines and carnations, various varieties of tulips and a snake's head fritillary, a type of flower that only arrived in the Netherlands in the late 16th century. Insects - a fly, a butterfly and a caterpillar - enliven the still life. The flowers are arranged in an artistic and balanced way: While the blossoms of the pink rose and the fritillary hang, one of the tulips, the most precious flower in the picture, towers high and enlivens the silhouette of the bouquet with its red and white petals. A floral still life by Johannes Bosschaert, dated around 1625 and comparable in the design of the glass vase and the arrangement of the flowers, was once offered on the English art market and is now in a private collection (RKD, no. 119596).