Vase of Flowers

The Spanish flower pieces flower pieces of the period originally hung in a religious context. They functioned as surrogates of real flowers used to decorate the altars of churches and chapels in the 17th century, just as they do today. It is not surprising, then, that flower pieces by many of the major Spanish flower painters, including Juan de Arellano, Bartolome Perez and Pedro de Camprob�n, are recorded as originally having decorated sacred places.