Beskrivning: Se även beskrivning i den engelska versionen

Res. Katalogtext: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 176:

Technical notes: The painting’s support is a single
piece of coarse, plain weave fabric, loosely woven of
irregularly spun threads, and with a selvedge at the right
edge. The painting, which has never been lined, is
mounted on an old stretcher. The verso of the stretcher
carries an old inscription in dark brown ink, “Pater Dan:
Séghers”. The tacking edges of the original fabric support
have been preserved on all sides. Pronounced cusping
is present along the top and right edges.

The preparatory layers consist of an extremely thin
white ground, which fills but does not hide the weave
structure of the support, followed by a thin, evenly
applied, reddish brown imprimatura, which is visible in
many places as a result of the abrasion of the paint surface.
Paint was applied thinly in opaque and semi-transparent
layers, with minimal brushmarking and mild impastos
in the highlights on individual blooms, the putto’s red
mantle, the soap bubbles and oil lamp, and in the white
flowers (roses, lilies). The petals of the pink roses, the
carnations, and the “broken” veins of the tulips, were
glazed with translucent red lakes, ranging from a cool
purplish to a warm deep red hue. The yellowish white
flesh tones of the putto, his red mantle, and many of the
smaller blooms and leaves, were applied over the grey
“stone” cartouche. Frequent major and minor contour
adjustments in the petals of individual flowers, made during
the painting process, have become visible to the
naked eye, for example, in the large pink rose, tulip, and
smaller violet bloom at the upper right, and the pink
roses at the lower left and right.

Small, flaked losses of the paint and ground layers
occur along the edges. Scattered small retouches, visible
in ultraviolet fluorescence, throughout the background,
the cartouche, and along the edges, cover extensive abrasion
of the thin upper layers. The outer contour of the
volute at the upper left has been reinforced. Two horizontal
cracks in the paint and ground layers extend
through the chest and stomach of the putto. The more
thickly painted flesh tones of the putto display a pronounced
craquelure. Some of the pigments used, notably
the red and yellow lakes, have suffered damage from fading,
as well as from overcleaning. The present grey-blue
appearance of the leaves no doubt resulted from fading
of a yellow lake pigment mixed with blue to produce a
rich green colour. The painting underwent conservation
treatment in 1861, 1929, 1965 and 1999.

Provenance: Coll. Holterman-Wahrendorff;
bequeathed by Martin von Wahrendorff in 1863; KM
1861, no. 1205.

Exhibited: Läckö 1999, no. 2.

Bibliography: Sander II, p. 117, no. 5 (as manner of
Daniel Seghers); NM Cat. 1867, p. 45; Göthe 1887, p.
245 (as manner of Daniel Seghers); Göthe 1893, p. 300
(as manner of Daniel Seghers); NM Cat. 1958, p. 184 (as
manner of Daniel Seghers); NM Cat. 1990, p. 332 (as
manner of Daniel Seghers).

This somewhat timeworn painting depicts a stone ornament
surrounded by flowers, butterflies, grubs and flies.
In the centre a putto is portrayed with a skull in his right
hand and a blowpipe in the left from which bubbles are
emerging. A lamp which can also be seen has been lit. A
devotional image such as this can be seen as a vanitas
symbol, perhaps taken from an emblem book such
as Otto Vaenius’ “Amorum Emblemata” or “Divini
Amoris Emblemata”.1

The garlands around the cartouche display flowers
of different kinds – Ivy, Columbines, Jasmine, Austrian
Briar, White Roses of York, Stinking Irises, Pomegranates,
Rose des Peintres, Tulips, Snowdrops,
Hyacinths, Austrian Copper Briars, Border Carnations,
Dwarf Nasturtiums, Christmas Roses, Morning
Glorys, Ivy-Leaved Cyclamen, Cornflowers, Seville
Oranges and White-Flowered Asphodels.
Doubts were already expressed by Sander and
Göthe as to whether this was a work by Seghers himself.
Upon close comparison with no. 175, an autograph
painting by Daniel Seghers, it must be concluded
that this painting could be a contemporary copy of
a lost work by Seghers.
According to tradition the original putto figure was
painted by Gerard Seghers.
GCB

1 The first editions of these books were published in Antwerp 1608 and
1615.[End]

Blomsterprydd kartusch med putto