LACMA

Dutch Artist Ambrosius Bosschaert painted this still life nearly four hundred years ago in Holland. A still-life painting is a picture of a variety of objects such as dishes, different types of food, fabric, and plants arranged on a table or other surface. The subject of this still life is a bouquet of flowers. The flowers burst forth from a small glass vase. Take a close look at the painting. How many different types of flowers did the artist include? The large arrangement of flowers sits on a ledge. Beyond the ledge, the artist painted a cloud-streaked sky and a landscape that includes a river and a small island. What other details do you notice?

Around the time this painting was made, many people collected pictures that displayed their possessions. Still lifes, landscapes, portraits, flower pictures, and animal pictures were in great demand. Some artists specialized in one type of painting such as figure painting or architectural studies. Still-life paintings like this one allowed artists to showcase their skill in painting textures and surfaces with realistic effects.

Bosschaert was an expert in Dutch flower paintings. He and other artists often made still-life paintings of flowers from different seasons. To do this, they made sketches of flowers in bloom each season and recreated their bouquets from those studies. In this painting, Bosschaert included tulips, irises, roses, carnations, daffodils, and other types of flowers. Look closely and you will see that he also included several types of bugs that nibble on the leaves and blossoms.

You can see this painting in the European art galleries on the third level of the Ahmanson Building at LACMA.

Search Collections Online to see more still-life paintings.

Ambrosius Bosschaert (Holland, Middelburg, 1573–1621)
Bouquet of Flowers on a Ledge, 1619–1620
Oil on copper, 11 x 9 in. (27.94 x 22.86 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter (M.2003.108.7)
Photo credit: © 2008 Museum Associates/LACMA