Unknown, Late 18th, Early 19th Century. Still Life, Flowers. Dutch floral still life paintings were a genre spanning over two centuries, with an appeal that has showed no signs of abating. These works were explosions of radiant, intensely colored blooms with sinuous foliage, massed closely together; fabulous specimens as if cultivated by a divinely inspired florist. But no one during these 200+ years could cultivated such majestic blossoms. This, of course, is the point about Dutch flower paintings: despite their breathtaking illusionism, detailing dazzling precision of individual blooms, they do not reflect reality due in no small part that many of the blossoms could not be available all at the same time. The idea was that the flowers depicted could be enjoyed by enthusiasts, long after their real-life counterparts had faded away. Implicit within this notion was the perception that earthly life is transitory and as fragile as a flower petal.

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