Josef Osbeck

Still Life of Flowers

Giovanni Stanchi (Rome 1608 - 1675) or Niccolò Stanchi (Rome 1623 - 1690), workshop of GARLAND OF FLOWERS WITH PORTRAIT OF THE VIRGIN Rome, First half of the Seventeenth century o...

RED GRAPES, RED WINE Aleksei Kreydun studied the Old Masters and has revived their long lost techniques, building up multiple layers of oil paint and lacque...

While still life painting can be dated back to the Ancient Egyptians, this still life takes on a modern theme. A crystal decanter and whiskey glass are set upon a piece of fraying tapestry. The curiosity comes when the viewer takes a closer look to discover a bee has flown in and is perched precariously on the neck of the decanter. This piece is framed in a heavy wooden frame with a gold insert. The framed dimensions are H 14.5 x W 16.5 inches. Matthew Cook...

Provenance: Selma Herringman, New York, ca. 1955-2013; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York, 2013-2020 This seventeenth century Spanish still-life of a laden table, known as a bodegón, stands out for its dramatic lighting and for the detailed description of each object. The artist’s confident use of chiaroscuro enables the sliced-open squash in the left foreground to appear as if emerging out of the darkness and projecting towards the viewer. The light source emanates from the upper left, illuminating the array, and its strength is made apparent by the reflections on the pitcher, pot, and the fruit in the basket. Visible brush strokes accentuate the vegetables’ rough surfaces and delicate interiors. Although the painter of this striking work remains unknown, it is a characteristic example of the pioneering Spanish still-lifes of the baroque period, which brought inanimate objects alive on canvas. In our painting, the knife and the large yellow squash boldly protrude off the table. Balancing objects on the edge of a table was a clever way for still-life painters to emphasize the three-dimensionality of the objects depicted, as well a way to lend a sense of drama to an otherwise static image. The knife here teeters on the edge, appearing as if it might fall off the table and out of the painting at any moment. The shape and consistency of the squash at left is brilliantly conveyed through the light brush strokes that define the vegetable’s fleshy and feathery interior. The smaller gourds—gathered together in a pile—are shrouded partly in darkness and stand out for their rugged, bumpy exterior. The stoneware has a brassy glaze, and the earthy tones of the vessels are carefully modulated by their interaction with the light and shadow that falls across them. The artist has cleverly arranged the still-life in a V-shaped composition, with a triangular slice of cheese standing upright, serving as its pinnacle. Independent still-lifes only became an important pictorial genre in the first years of the seventeenth century. In Italy, and particularly through the revolutionary works of Caravaggio, painted objects became carriers of meaning, and their depiction and arrangement the province of serious artistic scrutiny. Caravaggio famously asserted that it was equally difficult to paint a still-life as it was to paint figures, and the elevation of this new art form would have profound consequences to the present day. In Spain Juan Sanchez Cotan...

Hippolyte Pierre Delanoy (1849-1899) A Study of Flowers 1874 Signed and Dated, Oil on Canvas, 57 x 49cm Delanoy was born in Glasgow, of French Parents and was the brother of painter...

Ornate Classical Flowers oil painting on canvas, framed signed and dated 1947 framed: 17.5 x 12.5 inches canvas: 16 x 10.5 inches provenance: private collection condition: very good ...