Notes
La fine fleur: a collection of still lifes from a private collection (lots 231-242)
Holland is not only a country that specialises in flower growing, but also in flower painting. During, and after the Golden Age, the flower still life played an important role as decoration or as a precious collector's item. Around 1600 began a great tradition of Flemish and Dutch bouquets. Many hundreds of artists in the 17th and 18th centuries specialised in the painting of bouquets and other still life. The forever developing style is visible during this period as the variation of the flowers used in the paintings followed the ever-changing fashion in garden culture. But there are also constants for at least two centuries that typify the Dutch bouquet and fruit piece. For example, many sorts of flowers arranged in a vase on a wooden or stone block, with flowers from different seasons and usually with a neutral background so that the flowers stand out well. The bouquets were put together artificially by using sketches or during the growing season. Instead of representing reality, the idea behind it was to put together the most esthetic composition possible, sometimes even including clear symbolical content.
One of the artists that introduced change was Jan van Huysum (1682-1749). He placed the flowers in vases that are set off against decorations, placed a bird's nest in the foreground and used bright garden landscape as a background. One catches sight of his influence on other artists far into the 19th century. One of his followers was Jan van Os (1746-1808). It was especially his son, Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os (1782-1861), who changed over to new trends using antique vases (fig. 1), combined with dead partridges or other birds (reminiscent of Jan Weenix). He also used new elements such as rhododendron, camellia, cacti and tomato, along with new species of flowers from previous centuries. Georgius van Os was also influenced by Gerard van Spaendonck (1746-1822), who under French influence introduced the gracious rococo style. Gerard van Spaendonck had many pupils and followers, of which the most important was his ten year younger brother Cornelis (lot 231). Some of Gerard's pupils were French and Dutch women, such as Henriëtte Geertruida Knip (1783-1842). She, in her turn, started a new tradition. After 1830 she began to paint roses or other flowers, generally just a few kinds together, out in the open air or against a bank (fig. 2). This style was further implemented in the 18th century by Gerardina van de Sande Bakhuysen, Adriana Haanen and Margaretha Roosenboom. The French artist Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) - who visited Holland in 1846 - also used this form. This style was quickly copied by many in England and elsewhere.
During the 19th century, at least twohundred Dutch artists and better amateurs were engaged in painting flower still life. Strikingly, many of these artists were women, approximately 2/5 versus 3/5 men. Probably the relative portion of women in flower painting outside of the Netherlands has never been so great (in the same period, approximately 1/3 in Belgium). The quality of the women's work was no less than the men's, but their names are not as well known as the romantic landscape painters of the time.
We now see a development that stems from the use of separate flowers and fruit on a stone counter, an old tradition that was popularly present in the beginning of the 19th century. The formerly distinct separation between the fore- and background disappeared. The style changed from extensive use of detail to a freer technique in which artistic reproduction was more important than a photographic reproduction of the new, non-artificial reality. This technique gradually grew into the related impressionist style. This is clearly visible in the works by Adriana Haanen dated up to 1893, two years before her death. A great sense of tenderness is found in her work. Her earlier work was greatly influenced by the French rococo motifs. After 1860 she painted flowers and fruit outdoors, in a basket, loose on the ground or hanging on a wall. Adriana Haanen was a pupil of her father Casparis Haanen (1778-1849) and moved from Oosterhout in Brabant to Amsterdam. She moved to Oosterhout in 1864, near Arnhem. She painted fruit blossoms, sometimes in a crystal bowl or in a basket, mostly lying outside or climbing against a wall, and sometimes with dead game. Roses were often combined with other kinds of flowers, such as the Chinese aster (see lot 232), popular due to Gerard van Spaendonck (1746-1822), or the rhododendron (see lot 241), popular due to Georgius van Os (1782-1861). In Oosterbeek she lived together with Maria Vos, and in this period (circa 1878), she sometimes included objects in her compositions.
The still life of Maria Vos stands apart because of her use of silver gilt objects and lobsters in the spirit of the 17th century artist Willem Kalf (1619-1693). Yet she used mainly 19th century objects, such as a tomato, and other objects that were new to painting, such as honeycomb (see lot 239). We often see expensive objects together with simple ones, for example, a coarse basket such as Kalf painted in his farm interiors. Apart from still life she also depicted vegetable stalls and other fashionable items. Maria Vos painted with strong, warm colours.
Margaretha Roosenboom was educated by her father Nicolaas Johannes Roosenboom (1805-1880) and her grandfather Andreas Schelfhout (1787-1870), who like her husband Johannes Gysbert Vogel (1828-1915), were all landscape artists. After having lived in Brussels for ten years, she returned to The Hague in 1869. She lived in Haarlem from 1886 to 1890, and later moved to Voorburg. She painted mostly roses in oil and watercolour with softer colours and she also painted some pieces depicting fruit. Her watercolours are transparent, the roses and hollyhocks are typically frayed and frizzed at the edges, often plain, sometimes in hanging baskets. This transparency is also evident in her paintings. Whilst there are few details, her flowers give the impression of fullness and naturalness. They are enhanced by the suggestion of movement through differing colour surfaces and through the use of ripped or withered leaves. She seldom dated her work.
Amongst the women painters, roses were the most popular flower and Quince pears the most popular fruit because of its downy skin. The romanticism of these works is not only a matter of choice of these items, but by placing them outdoors or adding withered oats or other grasses. But especially it results in a simple naturalness and warmth which is hard to define, excluding the artificialness of premeditated compositions.
We wish to thank Dr Sam Segal for preparing this catalogue entry.
Christie’s charges a premium to the buyer on the Hammer Price of each lot sold at the following rates: 29.75% of the Hammer Price of each lot up to and including €5,000, plus 23.8% of the Hammer Price between €5,001 and €400,000, plus 14.28% of any amount in excess of €400,000. Buyer’s premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.
The present lot will be included in the third edition of the oeuvre catalogue by Dr Sam Segal.
