161. Circle of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (French, 1636-1699)

Floral Still Life.
oil on canvas, unsigned, framed,
27" x 22-1/4".

Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer ran a tremendously successful workshop which specialized in fruit and flower painting. Monnoyer himself was a native of Lille. He trained in Antwerp where he worked as a history painter before turning his attention to still life. Shortly after moving to Paris around 1655, where there was a greater demand for decorative painting, his talents were disovered by Charles Lebrun, Louis XIV's premier court painter. Shortly afterwards, Monnoyer was awarded substantial commissions for large decorative emsembles at numerous royal chateaux including Vaux-le-Vicomte, Vincennes, Saint-Cloud, Versailles, the Grand Trianon, and Marly.

Despite his success in Paris, Monnoyer decided to accept the invitation of Lord Montagu, who was then the English Ambassador to France, to move to England. Monnoyer remained there for the rest of his life, and continued to enjoy the lavish patronage of royalty and aristocrats.

The present work is charcteristic of Monnoyer's style, which combines elements of Flemish, French and Italian flower painting. The rich color and choice of floral varieties (especially poppies, primulas and roses) are commonly found in 17th-century Flemish flower painting. The dark blue vase with Ormolu mounts is a prop preferred by many French still-life painters, while the vigorous paint application and dark background are typically Italian. Monnoyer's bouquets are usually loose and airy in shape, with stems fanning out gracefully to the perimeter of the painting, as in the present lot.

2,000/4,000     SOLD: $7,130.00

Condition: Relined, inpainting on lower left corner, light craquelure to pigment layer, especially in upper right corner, horizontal scuff lower center.