NICOLAES VAN VERENDAEL (ANTWERP 1640-1691)

Taught by his father, Willem van Veerendael, Nicholaes practiced as a painter in Antwerp, specialising in flower and vanitas still-lifes. He collaborated with other Flemish artists, including David Teniers the Younger, Erasmus Quellinus and Carstian Luyckx. The supposed pendant to this painting, with which it was sold during the 1960s, is recorded as having been signed and dated ‘1671’, which fits stylistically with the present work. While his early works were influenced by Daniel Seghers, his bouquets from the 1670s became increasingly informal in their arrangement, betraying his debt to Jan Davidsz. de Heem, with whom he collaborated on a flower still-life now in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. Veerendael's choice of bold contrasting colours and his preference for mixing pinks and reds along with his outstanding use of whites, all present here, became hallmarks of his style. The format of the present canvas appears to have been reduced slightly in the past along the bottom edge, as addressed in the condition report.