Still life of flowers with birds' eggs, 1733

About the Work

In the first half of the eighteenth century, Jan van Huysum was considered the most important reviver of the flower painting of the Golden Age. His brush drawings translated the chromatic splendour of opulent bouquets from oil painting into the more delicate medium of watercolour and body colour on paper. These works were kept in albums and contemplated at tables. He selected the individual flowers from his stock of motifs and arranged them in such a way as to achieve a careful balance of their different hues.