Provenance
Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild [1808-1879], London; by inheritance to his son, Leopold de Rothschild [1845-1917]; by inheritance to his son, Lionel Nathan de Rothschild [1882-1942], Exbury, Hampshire; by inheritance to his son, Edmund Leopold de Rothschild [1916-2009], Exbury; sold 1947 to (Frank Partridge and Sons, London).[1] Mr. McIntosh, Bridge Allen, Scotland.[2] (William Hallsborough Gallery, London, 1958). (Fritz Nathan and Peter Nathan, Zurich, 1959); (Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York); purchased 17 May 1961 by NGA.
[1] The Rothschild provenance information was kindly provided by Michael Hall, curator to Edmund de Rothschild; see his "Rothschild Picture Provenances" from 1999 and letter of 27 February 2002, in NGA curatorial files, in which he cites relevant documents in The Rothschild Archive, London.
[2] The McIntosh name is provided by Nathan and Nathan; see their letter of 24 September 1959, in NGA curatorial files.
Accession Number
1961.6.1
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 69.6 x 56.5 cm (27 3/8 x 22 1/4 in.) | framed: 90.1 x 77.8 cm (35 1/2 x 30 5/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Andrew W. Mellon Fund
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Canvas Dutch
Background & Context
Background Story
Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-1684) was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his elaborate still lifes of flowers and fruit that are among the most accomplished examples of Dutch still life painting in the 17th century. Vase of Flowers from c. 1660 depicts an elaborate arrangement of flowers in a vase in the lavish, precisely observed manner that distinguishes de Heem's best work from the more austere Dutch still lifes of his contemporaries. The c. 1660 date places this in de Heem's most productive period, when he was producing the elaborate flower still lifes that are his most accomplished works.
Cultural Impact
Vase of Flowers is important in the history of Dutch still life painting because it demonstrates the elaborate, precisely observed manner that makes de Heem's still lifes among the most accomplished in 17th-century Dutch painting. De Heem's flower still lifes combine the lavish display of flowers from different seasons—which could never bloom simultaneously in nature—with the precise observation that makes each flower botanically accurate, creating a type of still lifes that is simultaneously lavish and scientifically precise.
Why It Matters
Vase of Flowers is de Heem's lavish Dutch still life: an elaborate arrangement of flowers rendered with the precise observation and lavish display that make his still lifes among the most accomplished in 17th-century Dutch painting. The c. 1660 painting combines flowers from different seasons in a display that is simultaneously lavish and botanically accurate.
![Saint Bernard and Saint Catherine of Alexandria with the Virgin of the Annunciation [right panel]](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/e6890364-4d99-4684-a62b-5060ee3c3446/full/400,/0/default.jpg)
