Still-Life of Flowers

Private collection

still-life

Dezallier d'Argenville (1680-1765, a lawyer to the Parlement de Paris, secretary to the king and author of the book entitled The Theory and Practice of Gardening, wrote about him: "This talented artist is respected by all lovers of painting. As a rule his work is fresh and perfectly conveys what he is depicting, so that you can be almost certain the only thing missing among his beautiful flowers is the scent, which they appear to give off. He is a great master, a favourite of the Muses, who paints everything from nature.

About the Artist

Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer

1636 – 1699

Franco-Flemish flower-painter who was trained in Antwerp, but became a member of the Academy in Paris in 1665 and worked for Louis XIV. It is said that he was annoyed because his son Antoine, an inferior flower-painter, was allowed to alter some of his works, and in a fit of pique he went to London c. 1685. There he worked for the Duke of Montagu's new (and very French) town house (many of these pictures have passed by inheritance to the Duke of Buccleuch) and he remained in London until his death. His flower-pieces are rich and splendid, yet painted with the greatest regard for botanical accuracy: they frequently appear in English sale-rooms under his nickname 'Baptiste'. He also published books of engravings of flowers. Many pictures have been wrongly attributed to him, and his oeuvre is difficult to define because of the lack of signed and dated pictures.

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