Vase of Flowers

Jan (Jan 'Velvet' Brueghel) Brueghel the Elder

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Jan (Jan 'Velvet' Brueghel) Brueghel the Elder

Brussels (Belgium), 1568 - Antwerp (Belgium), 1625

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Vase of Flowers

First quarter of the XVII century. Oil on panel.
Room 082

Following the death of Ferdinand VI in 1759, Isabella Farnese acted as governor until the arrival of Charles III. At that date, she decided to establish her residence in Madrid and acquired the Buenavista Palace. In addition to the building, she also purchased a group of forty-six Flemish paintings for the purpose of decorating her new residence: twenty-nine attributed to David Teniers II and seventeen to Jan Brueghel the Elder. Notable among the latter are two depictions of vases of flowers, one featuring a ceramic vessel with a scalloped edge and the other with a frog, both now in the Museo del Prado. In the latter, Brueghel composed a symphony of shapes and colours; daffodils, tulips, pinks, and roses are arranged in a hand-blown glass vase. As the artist recounted in his correspondence, he patiently waited for each species to bloom, achieving an almost botanical realism. Small insects are to be seen among the petals, reinforcing the sense of lifelikeness, while on the table we see a small frog and a bezoar stone, the latter considered to have healing properties, particularly as an antidote to a range of poisons.

Although the traditional interpretation of these vases of flowers alludes to vanity and the transience of earthly existence, Brueghel’s stand out for their ability to capture the beauty of the visible world, appealing to aesthetic enjoyment rather than to moral reflection.

García Pérez, Noelia, The female perspective III. Queen Isabella Farnese (1692-1766), Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2025, p.48-63; 105 n.31

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A sculpture inspired by the Prado painting "Market and Washing Place in Flanders" (1620)

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Botany in Art: "Market and Washing Place in Flanders", c. 1620

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Commented works: Sight, by Jan Brueghel and Peter Paul Rubens

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Technical data

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Inventory number: P001423
Author: Jan (Jan 'Velvet' Brueghel) Brueghel the Elder
Title: Vase of Flowers
Date: First quarter of the XVII century
Technique: Oil
Support: Panel
Dimension: Height: 49 cm; Width: 39 cm
Provenance: Royal Collection (Collection of the Marquis of Ensenada, Madrid; acquired by Isabella Farnese, near 1759; Buenavista Palace, Madrid, 1766, n. 175; Royal Palace of Madrid, gabinete colgado de verde, 1772, n. 175; Royal Palace, Madrid, retrete, 1794, [s. n.])

Bibliography +

Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier, Museo del Prado. Catálogo de las pinturas, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1972.

Díaz Padrón, Matías, Museo del Prado. Catálogo de pinturas. Escuela flamenca, Museo del Prado; Patronato Nacional de Museos, Madrid, 1975, pp. lám. 34.

Díaz Padrón, Matías, La Escuela Flamenca del Siglo XVII, Ediciones Alfiz, Madrid, 1983, pp. 58.

Ertz, Klaus, Jan Breughel the Younger. 1601-1678. The Paintings With Oeuv, Luca Verlag, Freren, 1984, pp. nº276.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Catálogo de las pinturas, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1985, pp. 92.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo del Prado: inventario general de pinturas (I) La Colección Real, Museo del Prado, Espasa Calpe, Madrid, 1990, pp. nº1482.

Díaz Padrón, Matías, El siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado: catálogo razonado, Prensa Ibérica, Barcelona, 1995, pp. 316.

García Pérez, Noelia, The female perspective III. Queen Isabella Farnese (1692-1766), Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2025, pp. 48-63; 105 n.31.

García Pérez, Noelia, El Prado en femenino III. La reina Isabel de Farnesio (1692-1766), Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2025, pp. 48-63; 105 n.31.

Other inventories +

Inv. Testamentaría Isabel Farnesio, Buenavista, 1766. Núm. 175.
174 y 175 / Otras dos Pinturas iguales que contienen varios Jarrones de Flores, y en el vno una rana; en tabla de dos tercias de alto y media vara de caida, con marcos tallados, y dorados y sus christales, originales de Brugul, tasadas las dos en diez mil Rs de Vn

Inv. Carlos III, Palacio Nuevo, 1772. Núm. 175.
Gabinete colgado de verde [...] [12995-12996] 174-175 / Dos pinturas iguales con vnos jarrones de flores y en el vno vna rana de dos tercias de alto y media vara de ancho original del mismo autor

Inv. Testamentaría Carlos III, Palacio Nuevo, 1794. Núm. s. nº..
[160] Dos [quadros] de mas de media vara de alto y mas de tercia de ancho: Jarrones de flores a 2000 reales cada uno: manera de Brugul ... 4000

Museo Real de Pinturas a la muerte de Fernando VII, 1834. Núm. 92.
SALÓN 1º ESCUELA HOLANDESA [...] Noventa y dos. Un vaso con flores, y al lado una rana / de J. Brueghel / Tª / 3.090

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1854-1858. Núm. 1482.

Inv. Real Museo, 1857. Núm. 1482.
J. Brueghel. / 1482. Vaso con flores. / A su lado hay una rana. (Tabla.) / Alto 1 pie, 9 pulg; ancho 1 pie, 4 pulg, 6 lin.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1872-1907. Núm. 1257.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1910. Núm. 1423.

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1942-1996. Núm. 1423.

Inscriptions +

HANS · BREVGEL / · F ·
Inscribed. Back, upper left corner

[Escudo de armas]
Wax seal. Back, lower central area

G. O
Inscribed with chalk. Back, Upper central area

147
Inscribed in black. Back, central area

13
Inscribed. Back, lower central area

7^a. N^o. 8. / Florero. / 3^a.
Handwritten label. Back, Upper right area

1482
Inscribed in orange. Front, lower left corner

175
Inscribed in black. Back, central area

de Gabriel de [¿Rubalcava?] [rúbrica]
Inscribed in pen and ink. Back, Upper area

8.
Front, lower left corner

Exhibitions +

The Female Perspective III. Queen Isabella Farnese (1692–1766) and the Museo del Prado
Madrid
01.12.2025 - 24.05.2026

Location +

Room 082 (On Display)

Displayed objects +

Flower Arrangement: Típica copa Berkemeyer de mayor tamaño que el habitual, de vidrio ligeramente coloreado, empleada como florero (Fernández Navarro, J. M.; Capel del Águila, F.: El vidrio en la pintura del Museo Nacional del Prado, 2012).