Still Life with Flowers by Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer

Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer
1636-1699 | French

Still Life with Flowers on a Carved Stone Ledge

Oil on canvas

Impeccable detail and luminous color breathe life into this floral still life by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer. Trained in Antwerp, Monnoyer's works follow in the footsteps of a rich tradition of Flemish still life painting that flourished in the 17th century. While Still Life with Flowers on a Carved Stone Ledge reflects Monnoyer's Flemish education, it also reveals a distinctly French grandeur and flair, typifying the extravagant style that made the artist so beloved during his lifetime. His still life paintings remain just as coveted today, particularly those of the size, detail and quality of the present composition.

Monnoyer specialized in floral still life painting throughout his life, achieving a level of skill that made him the preferred flower painter of the French aristocracy, who decorated their châteaux and luxury hotels with his works. Yet, very few of the compositions he created incorporated the level of complexity of the present oil. In addition to its sumptuous vase of flowers, it also features elements of classical architecture, a rarity in his oeuvre. The cool grays and earthly browns of the stone ledge, for instance, provide contrast to the vibrant blooms, while two stone lions look at one another in the background, lending the scene character. Taken as a whole, it incorporates all of the finest qualities of his highly sought-after output; few artists could achieve the veracity and vibrancy that Monnoyer obtains in the work.

Born in Lille in 1636, Monnoyer studied in Antwerp, where he encountered the great Flemish masters Hieronymus Galle and Davidsz de Heem, to whom he is clearly indebted. Following his training, he moved to Paris by 1650, and his first large commission came in the form of the decoration of the Hôtel Lambert on the Ile Saint-Louis. It was one of the grandest projects of the day, and it cemented Monnoyer's reputation early as a painter of repute in Paris. The work led to numerous other commissions, first on hotels and later on the royal residences of Versailles, Château de Vincennes, Château de Saint-Cloud, Château de Marly and the Palais des Tuileries.

Monnoyer's skill for still life painting was admired by the English as well as the French, and he visited London on a handful of occasions in order to complete special commissions, including decorations at Burlington House and Kensington Palace. He spent the last two years of his life in England before passing away in 1699. His works were not only well respected during his lifetime, but also in the century that followed. Today, they are well represented in museum collections around the world, including the Musée du Louvre (Paris), the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid), the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) and the British Royal Collection.

Canvas: 53" high x 37" wide (134.62 cm x 93.98 cm)
Frame: 61" high x 43 3/4" wide x 2 1/2" deep (154.94 cm x 111.13 cm x 6.35 cm)

Provenance:
Private Collection, United States
Private Collection, Colorado
M.S. Rau