Hiromu Arakawa (荒川 弘)

Daniel Seghers (1590 Antwerp - 1661 ibid.) attr; Still life with two garlands of flowers Garlands of various spring and summer flowers draped on a sculptural scrollwork with fragrantly painted blossoms - against a light brown, neutral background; as enlivening elements a magnificent swallowtail butterfly and a goldfinch sitting on a rose stem. The butterfly and the bird give the still life an additional, deeper level of meaning: the goldfinch is regarded as a symbol of Christ's passion and redemption, but also as an allusion to man's soul flying away; the butterfly, which also stands for transformation and metamorphosis, should also be seen in this context. The Flemish artist Daniel Seghers, a pupil of Jan Brueghel the Elder, was one of the most outstanding, important and influential flower painters of the 17th century, admired throughout Europe. As early as 1611, he became a master in the Antwerp painters' guild and, although he joined the Jesuit order in 1614, he continued to work as a painter. In 1625, he created two large garland paintings for the Cathedral of St. Michel in the Jesuit College in Brussels. Such flower garland paintings became a specialty of the painter. This often led to congenial collaborations - the central figurative depictions (including Madonnas, putti and portraits) framed by flower garlands and wreaths were created by other important painters such as Nicolas Poussin, Domenichino, Abraham van Diepenbeeck, Cornelis Schut, Erasmus Quellinus II, Theodor van Thulden, Simon de Vos, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Gonzales Coques, Jan van Balen and Gerard Seghers, J. van den Hoecke, Jan Boeckhorst etc.; rarer in Seghers' oeuvre, however, are pure still lifes of simple small flower festoons or with small bouquets in glass vases. Oil on canvas; 54 cm x 69 cm. Original 17th century flambeau frame. Attributed to Daniel Seghers (1590 - 1641). Oil on canvas. Original frame.