Still Life - Jan Frans Van Dael 1816

Bouquet of flowers on a frame
 Oil on panel, signed and dated 1816

 Jan Frans Van Dael
 (1764, Antwerp – 1840, Paris)

 This work brilliantly illustrates the remarkable talent of Jan Frans Van Dael, one of the greatest painters of floral still lifes of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Trained in Antwerp, he quickly made a name for himself through the finesse of his drawing and the almost botanical precision of his compositions, before settling in Paris where he enjoyed a brilliant career.
 Van Dael was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and exhibited regularly at the Salon, receiving prestigious commissions, notably from the imperial court. He is renowned for his richly decorative bouquets, combining technical virtuosity, chromatic harmony, and a keen sense of composition.
 In this Bouquet of Flowers on a Frame , the artist deploys an intense color palette, subtly balanced by a light background, lending the whole a great luminosity. The profusion of detail invites the eye to linger, constantly revealing new nuances and textures, the hallmark of Van Dael's accomplished style.

 Origin
 Private collection
 Drouot auction, May 15, 1872

 Condition report
 The painting had an old, opaque, and heavily soiled varnish, which was removed during professional cleaning. This intervention restored the freshness of the colors and the legibility of the original details, without altering the paint itself.
 Dimensions

 
 Unframed: Height 73 cm × Width 57 cm
 
 With frame: Height 92 cm × Width 75.5 cm