Artwork
Still life. An Homage to Van Spaendonck
Still life. An Homage to Van Spaendonck is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny-Damas. It dates from 1793 and is held in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Created in 1793, this oil painting titled *Still life.
About this work
Overview
An Homage to Van Spaendonck* depicts a modest arrangement of artistic tools and blossoms.
Created in 1793, this oil painting titled *Still life. An Homage to Van Spaendonck* depicts a modest arrangement of artistic tools and blossoms. A dark‑blue vase with gilt handles and a lid, a brown painter’s palette, and several brushes occupy the foreground, while pink, white and purple flowers spill around them against a deep brown wall. The work is part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The composition juxtaposes the implements of painting—a palette and brushes—with a bouquet of flowers, suggesting a dialogue between creation and its natural inspiration. By referencing the celebrated Dutch flower painter Jan van Spaendonck, the artist acknowledges his influence on the genre of floral still life, while also foregrounding the act of painting itself as a subject worthy of depiction.
Technique & Style
Executed in the Rococo tradition, the piece employs a delicate palette of pastel hues for the blossoms contrasted with richer, darker tones in the background and objects. The brushwork is smooth and refined, rendering the glossy surface of the vase and the soft petals with a subtle play of light, characteristic of late‑18th‑century French still‑life painting.
History & Provenance
The work was painted by Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny‑Damas, a French flower painter who signed her works as the Marquise de Grollier. After remaining in private hands for over a century, the painting entered the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s European paintings collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny-Damas
Charlotte Eustace Sophie de Fuligny-Damas, more commonly known as the Marquise de Grollier (21 December 1741, Paris – 1828, Épinay-sur-Seine), was a French flower painter.
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