This flower painting brings to mind works the artist gave to the Prince of Asturias, Charles of Bourbon, in 1788. Shortly before he took the throne as King Charles IV. An early interest in art in general, and painting in particular, led this monarch to amass an excellent collection at his residence near the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, and the numerals (360) that appear on this panel correspond to the inventory of that collection, many of whose works were looted during the French invasion. When José Bonaparte fled the Peninsula on his way back to France, he took a copious booty, including some of the treasures that had belonged to Charles IV.

The chronology of the artist’s gift to the prince allow us to date the present work from 1788 or earlier. Roses, tuberoses, daffodils and wallflowers, among other species, form a delicate bouquet that emerges from a crystal vase resting on a stone pedestal whose far right edge is irregular.

This agreeable depiction of flowers recalls the grace and lightness of French paintings from both the first half of the 18th century, with classicist airs, and the late rococo. Nonetheless, its composition resembles those by Arellano, with which it shares undeniable similarities, despite being less monumental and opulent than the works of that great Siglo de Oro artist. Here, Espinós displays a technical mastery based on a complete control of color and a skillful contrast of light and shadows—the vase stands out clearly against the dark background—that place him head and shoulders above his peers. He executes this work with vibrant but never excessive impasto brushstrokes behind which there is a striking mastery of drawing. In that same sense, he establishes a dynamic play among stalks and petal, clearly reflecting a fondness of highly evocative tactile qualities that bears witness to both a gift for observation, and great skill at depicting what he observes (Text from Luna, J. J.: El bodegón español en el Prado. De Van der Hamen a Goya, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 138).