DANIEL SEGHERS (ANTWERP 1590-1661)

While Seghers most frequently painted garlands and swags of flowers arranged around a central motif, his independent still life paintings, such as the present, are much rarer. By isolating a limited variety flowers against a blue-black background, the artist is here able to emphasise their intricacy with luminous clarity. The simplicity of the composition is enhanced by the varying angles of the stems and buds, which break away from the central swag to be silhouetted against the background. The selection of blooms, comprised mainly or pink and white roses, may have served to raise religious connotations, with the white rose a symbol of purity and pink of love, referencing the Virgin, and the butterflies an emblem of Christ’s Resurrection.