Vase of Flowers
Ca. 1700. Oil on canvas.Not on display
This vase contains a variety of flowers and is presented in frontal perspective in order to appreciate both the fall of the lower ones and the verticality of the upper ones, a technique used to admire them. Its appearance is dominated more by the contrast between light and shade, and between colour ranges, than by the outline of the figures. His style is related to that of the still-life painters Bartolomé Pérez, Juan de Arellano and Mario Nuzzi. Six paintings by his hand, and similar ones, were in the same room in the Buen Retiro Palace. Probably due to his training, this painting was listed in the historical inventories as anonymous Italian.
The still life was a popular subject in Golden Age painting in Spain as an independent genre. This domestic painting allows for the exaltation of flowers, crockery, textiles and other objects, which is why it is often combined with vanitas. The artificial light emanating from the objects is typically Baroque.
