Flowers in a Vase, Paulus Theodorus van Brussel (1792).
Van Brussel was born in the village of Zuid Polsbroek, near Utrecht. His first teacher was the Haarlem painter Jan Augustini (1729–1773), for whom he worked making decorative paintings for the walls of elegant homes.
Van Brussel moved to Amsterdam in 1774, and lived there for the remainder of his life, active as a painter of fruit and flower still lifes; dated works are known from 1778 to 1794. His colourful and highly finished paintings featured in prominent collections throughout Europe.
He drowned while ice skating, at the age of 41.
The lush arrangement highlights van Brussel’s precise drawing, fluid brushwork, and his ability to evoke different textures. Most of the flowers featured in his paintings were popular, readily available species, including tulips, narcissi, poppies, roses, and peonies.
His concern for detail is evident throughout, whether depicting sap oozing from a broken tulip stem, speckles dotting the auricula blossoms, delicate tendrils spiralling away from the mass of flowers, or water droplets glistening on a rose leaf. The light-coloured landscape background is typical of flower paintings in the 18th century.
Like Jan van Huysum, van Brussel often included a bird’s nest lying on the ledge at the base of the vase of flowers. Yolk oozes from one of the eggs that has cracked.
