CORTE, Gabriel de la

The composition of this work is almost certainly inspired by the great paintings of Juan de Arellano, although the cascading flowers on either side of the wicker basket bears the distinctive hallmark of De la Corte.

This painting (and another in the same private collection) are illuminating examples of the type of decorative flower pieces in series in which De la Corte specialised. The complete series is likely to have comprised a number of other pictures of the same type. These pictures are trompe l’oeil works that depict fictive carved stone or stucco-work grotesques of scrolling vegetable ornament with intertwining flower garlands. It is unlikely that these grotesques existed as such and they were most probably copied from 16th or 17th-century ornamental prints.

While the grotesques are repeated in each picture, the floral arrangements vary and offer a delightful interplay between the natural-looking flowers and the stylised vegetable ornaments. The repetition of the grotesque decorations and the downward-looking angle of the cherubs gaze in the paintings suggest that these pictures were intended to make up a frieze on the upper part of the wall in a private residence of the time.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, ballet suite, op. 71, Waltz of the Flowers

This painting (and another in the same private collection) are illuminating examples of the type of decorative flower pieces in series in which De la Corte specialised. The complete series is likely to have comprised a number of other pictures of the same type. These pictures are trompe l’oeil works that depict fictive carved stone or stucco-work grotesques of scrolling vegetable ornament with intertwining flower garlands. It is unlikely that these grotesques existed as such and they were most probably copied from 16th or 17th-century ornamental prints.

While the grotesques are repeated in each picture, the floral arrangements vary and offer a delightful interplay between the natural-looking flowers and the stylised vegetable ornaments. The repetition of the grotesque decorations and the downward-looking angle of the cherubs gaze in the paintings suggest that these pictures were intended to make up a frieze on the upper part of the wall in a private residence of the time.

Gabriel de la Corte was one of the principal flower painters working in Madrid during the second half of the 17th century. His technique is markedly different from that of his contemporary Bartolom� P�rez and the older Juan de Arellano, for rather than adhering to the tradition of the great Flemish still-life painters in their precision of detail, his brushwork is at once more spirited and schematic..

Unlike Juan de Arellano and Bartolom� P�rez, De la Corte did not enjoy royal patronage at the court and as a result had to make a living selling his works in the shops of Madrid. According to Palomino he contributed the flower garlands to the work of artists such as Antonio Castrej�n and Mat�as de Torres and a large body of his known oeuvre consists of floral and architectural decoration, probably painted to adorn the grand houses of Madrid (which out of context today perhaps no longer retain their original impact and effect).

This magnificent belongs to a set of six works of the same type, now all in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It is assumed that they once formed part of the decoration of a convent or chapel. In their original context, these flower-pieces are likely to have been regarded as images of the natural world that lifted up the spirits of viewers in praise of its Creator. The figures of excited cherubs bearing flowers and fruit that are embossed on the wide gilded bowls emphasise the religious message.

The bowls are filled with a dense arrangement of flowers and the blooms occupy the pictorial field in a manner that is characteristic of De la Corte’s compositional horror vacui in his flower paintings. The abundance of blooms and tempestuous vitality of these are also typical qualities of his flower-pieces.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):

Franz Schubert: Blumenlied (Flower Song) D 431

This magnificent belongs to a set of six works of the same type, now all in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It is assumed that they once formed part of the decoration of a convent or chapel. In their original context, these flower-pieces are likely to have been regarded as images of the natural world that lifted up the spirits of viewers in praise of its Creator. The figures of excited cherubs bearing flowers and fruit that are embossed on the wide gilded bowls emphasise the religious message.

The bowls are filled with a dense arrangement of flowers and the blooms occupy the pictorial field in a manner that is characteristic of De la Corte’s compositional horror vacui in his flower paintings. The abundance of blooms and tempestuous vitality of these are also typical qualities of his flower-pieces.