Flowers in a Porcelain Vase

Though known also as a painter of landscapes, it is his handful of still-lifes that distinguish Van den Berghe above others of his generation. The present flower piece depicts tulips, roses, narcissi, daffodils, crocuses, an iris, a poppy and other flowers in a gilt mounted porcelain vase on a ledge, with a queen of Spain fritillary, a white ermine and a magpie butterfly. The likeness in palette and execution of the present still-life to early Middelburg-period still-lifes by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder is undeniable.