Roelant Savery
(Courtrai/Kortrijk 1576-1639 Utrecht)
Still life with flowers in a glass vase in a stone niche with a carnation and a lizard on the ledge
ca. 1625/30
Signed lower centre on the plinth: 'ROELANDT SAVERY FE'
Oil on copper, dimensions: 32 x 24.5 cm
As in almost all other floral still lifes of that time, Savery combined flowers of different seasons in the painting owned by Galerie Neuse. The spray was not painted from nature, but was composed from a number of single studies. The fallen carnation on the left and the leaves in the right-hand corner of the niche are a reminder of the transitoriness of human life, whereas – as a contrasting motif – the sand lizard at bottom right symbolises, as a creature that can change itself, i.e. cast of its old skin and reveal itself in a new one, the idea of resurrection as redemption of the human soul. A certain religious meaning that is frequently ascribed by researchers to Savery's still lifes of flowers may also be present in this picture, in the form of the different flower varieties. The crowning sword lily may be interpreted as a symbol of divine majesty, whereas the rose, with its petals forming a trinity, can be seen as signifying divine love. The forget-me-not was referred to in those days as "Oculus Christi" ("The Eye of Christ"). The free, soft ductus, combined with a tendency towards formal stylisation, yet with delicate reproduction of blossoms and leaves, suggest that the painting was made towards the end of the 1620s, i.e. the main period in which Savery painted his still lifes of flowers.
- Aquilegia vulgaris
- Erysimum cheiri
- Mosotis scorpiodes
- Anemone pavonina
- Rosa x alba subplena
- Rosa x provincialis
- Dianthus caryophyllus plenus
- Fritillaria latifolia
- Lilium bulbiferum subspecies croceum
- Iris x swertii
- Rosa rubiginosa
- Anethum graveolens
- Iris sibirica
- Anthriscus caucalis
- Tulipa stapfii x T. agenensis
- Nigella damascena
- Scilla bifolia
- Chelidonium majus
- Dryopteris filix-mas
- Dianthus caryophyllus plenus bicolour
- Cyclamen hederifolium
- Eryngium maritimum
- Poa pratensis
- Fumeria officinalis
Provenance
- Eugen Slatter Gallery, London 1957
References
- Kurt J. Müllenmeister, Roeland Savery Kortrijk 1576-1639 Utrecht. Hofmaler Kaiser Rudolf II. in Prag – Die Gemälde mit kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Freren 1988, cat. no. 292, p. 341.