Still Life
Artist
Severin Roesen
(American, born in Germany, about 1815–1872)
Date1849
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 56.4 × 68.9 cm (22 3/16 × 27 1/8 in.)
framed: 69.4 × 83.7 cm (27 5/16 × 32 15/16 in.)
framed: 69.4 × 83.7 cm (27 5/16 × 32 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCharlotte E.W. Buffington Fund
Object number1981.343
DescriptionLush profusion of fruits and flowers painted in great detail on marble table top. Attention to form, color & texture. Vivid colors of red, yellow, orange, blue and white. Winding green vines and leaves. A ladybug and butterfly rest on leaves in the foreground. All distributed to create overall balance in design.Label TextAn elaborate profusion of flowers and fruit delights the eye in Roesen’s painting, made a year after he immigrated to New York from Germany. Originally a porcelain painter, Roesen contributed to the gradual development of America’s still-life tradition by creating luxurious floral arrangements in his works. Details—from a juicy pomegranate to insects on sharp-edged leaves—are rendered with botanical accuracy, texture, and color, signifying the artist’s knowledge of 17th-century Dutch paintings that explored the natural world. These aspects convey the freshness and bounty of nature, as well as sumptuous entertaining, which would have appealed to Roesen’s New York clientele in the early 19th century.ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. Roland Carlson, North Dartmouth, MA
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