BOLLONGIER, Hans

(b. ~1600 Haarlem, d. ~1675 Haarlem)

Hans Bollongier (or Boulenger), Dutch painter of Haarlem. He specialised in painting still-lifes of flowers, although he also painted genre pieces. Floral still-life was the speciality of many artists in the early half of the seventeenth century, although Bollongier appears to have had no rivals in Haarlem. Bollongier’s work reveals little contemporary influence. Compared to other painters of floral still-lifes, he employed loose, forceful brushstrokes. His paintings also feature a powerful contrast between dark and light.

Flower Piece

A bouquet of striped tulips, a rose, an orange lily, a red and white carnation, stocks and a cyclamen. This is an imaginary bouquet; these flowers did not bloom at the same time. In Haarlem, the centre of flower-growing, there was only one painter of floral still-lifes, Hans Bollongier, who continued the tradition of Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):

Franz Schubert: Blumenlied (Flower Song) D 431

Send Postcard Learn More

Flowers in a Vase

Send Postcard Learn More

Still-Life with Flowers

A lush bouquet of flowers stands on the table. The glass vase is barely big enough to hold the profusion of tulips, roses, anemones, and carnations. The painter knew how to turn a bouquet of flowers into a unified whole, more so than did Bosschaert and Van der Ast, the painters also specialised in flower still-lifes. He achieved this effect by means of a more supple technique, by using less diverse and less exuberant colours, by letting some of the flowers to overlap and by the subtle play of light and shadow. Part of this red and white bouquet remains in the shadow, while several flamed tulips catch the full light.

Send Postcard Learn More

Tulips and Other Flowers in a Glass Vase

Send Postcard Learn More