Flower Still Life

At left; picture of the painting, Flower Still Life (Un Vase de Cristal, Rempli de Différentes Fleurs, Posé sur un Socle d'Albâtre), painted by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, 1796, oil on canvas, 39 x 31 1/2 in. Collection French & Company, LLC, New York.

As far as we know, only a couple of oil paintings attributed to Redouté exist. As you can see, Redouté’s early influence from the Flemish flower painters such as Jan van Huysum  is clearly evident in this still-life portrait. It was painted by Redouté at the age of 37. 

Judging by the shape of the blooms and foliage, the white rose in the centre of the painting appears to be an Alba and the pink blushed roses surrounding it appear to be Centifolias. A wide variety of other flowers, fruit and grasses fill the picture including accents of the Flemish flower painting style – the water droplets highlighting the dewy freshness of the plants and a menagerie of little insects crawling across the scene. 

It's interesting to see how this influence can be seen in Redouté’s later illustrations for Choix des Plus Belles Fleurs (Redoute's Finest Flowers). Although the medium Redouté used for illustrating Choix was watercolour and not oil paint, the botanical illustrations with their occasion dewdrop or butterfly give homage to the Flemish flower painting tradition.